Helpful Client Tips
Helpful Client Tips
Your pet’s health and comfort comes first.
Appointment Policy
Our goal is to provide excellent care to each patient in a timely manner. If it is necessary to cancel or reschedule an appointment, clients are required to call or leave a message at least 24 hours before their pet’s appointment time. Notification allows us time to help other pets in need of care.
No-Show, Late, & Cancellation Policy
Description:
“No Show” shall mean any patient who fails to arrive for a scheduled appointment. “Same Day Cancellation” shall mean any client who cancels or reschedules an appointment less than 24 hours before their scheduled appointment. No-show and Same Day Cancellation are both considered missed appointments. “Late Arrival” shall mean any patient who arrives at the clinic 5 minutes after the expected arrival time for the scheduled appointment.
Policy:
It is the policy of the practice to monitor and manage appointment no-shows and late cancellations. Private Veterinary Specialties’ goal is to provide excellent care to each patient in a timely manner. If it is necessary to cancel or reschedule an appointment, clients are required to call or leave a message at least 24 hours before their pet’s appointment time. Notification allows the practice to utilize appointments for other pets in need of prompt medical care.
Procedure:
- A client is notified of the appointment “No-Show, Late, & Cancellation Policy” here or at the time of scheduling. This policy can and will be provided in writing to patients at their request.
- Appointments must be cancelled or rescheduled at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment time.
- In the event a patient arrives late as defined by “late arrival” to their appointment, there will be a late fee added to their visit in the event they can still be seen. If they cannot be seen they will be rescheduled for a future appointment time.
- In the event a patient has incurred one (1) documented “no-shows” and/or “same-day cancellations,” the patient may be subject to a missed appointment fee or to dismissal from Private Veterinary Specialties care.
Communication
Each patient should have ONE primary caregiver for us to communicate with to provide patients updates or answer questions. Communication via this one-point person allows essential information regarding your pet to be more precise and more concise. Our goal is to avoid any confusion during treatment.
The mobile oncology department is available Monday-Thurs from 8 am – 6 pm. Every effort will be made to return phone and e-mail messages the same day they are received. The department answers/returns call between patients. Any messages left after business hours will be returned on the department’s next business day. If you have an urgent concern during off-hours, please contact your primary veterinarian or visit your local emergency hospital, as they are available 24/7.
Updates
After each treatment visit, we e-mail an oncology update to you and your veterinarian. Please read these updates as they contain important information about medications, prognosis, and recheck appointments.
Prescriptions
Medication refill requests are addressed during normal business hours. Please allow at least 24 hours for refills to be completed. Medications can be picked up at the front desk after they are filled.
For outside pharmacy prescriptions and refills, we are happy to provide you with a written prescription, which you can pick up and have filled at the pharmacy of your choice. We do not price shop, fax, email, or call in prescriptions to online pharmacies.
Blood Work
Chemotherapy protocols require blood work on the day of treatment and sometimes after treatment. We recommend this blood work be done with our department, as this allows us to address blood work changes immediately. Blood work is also done with us prior to every treatment. If you elect to have post-chemotherapy blood work checked via your primary veterinarian, they must review these results with you. Post-chemotherapy blood work should always be done in-house (not sent to the lab) so results can be addressed immediately.
Recheck blood work is done on a particular schedule, as outlined in your discharge/update; deviation from this schedule could compromise your pet’s health. If your veterinarian has blood work concerns, they call our office at 908-392-1601.