State laws mandate that veterinarians must establish a veterinary-client-patient relationship to provide care to pets. This relationship must be maintained to ensure the veterinarian has enough information to properly manage conditions.
In keeping with state regulations, the following protocols have been established:
- A complete physical exam is required prior to prescribing any medications, supplements, and/or therapeutic foods
- A valid veterinary-client-patient relationship must be maintained for any prescription or treatment which includes physical exams on a regular repeat basis with a frequency appropriate for the condition(s) for which the patient is being treated. For healthy pets, that frequency is annually. For pets with chronic conditions, more frequent exams are required.
- Refills for non-chronic medications necessitate an additional exam based on the individual patient, condition, response to therapy, and time since previous symptoms.
- Refills for chronic medications will require a complete physical exam with or without regular bloodwork depending on the condition at minimum every 3-6 months.
- Refill requests must be approved by a veterinarian and can take 1-2 business days for approval. It is recommended that refill requests be made at least 1 week ahead to allow for approval time and ordering/shipping of medications if necessary.
For more information regarding prescriptions, please visit our Prescriptions page.