Outside/Online Pharmacies Policy
At Huntsville Pet Clinic, we take pride in being your furry family member’s doctor and see our role as an integral part in providing healthcare to your pet. We have recently experienced many issues with online pharmacies, such as medications not being dispensed correctly or as directed, approved or denied without our consent, and have been inundated by faxes and calls from pharmacies. These events and others have prompted a change in policy.
It is our practice policy to provide written prescriptions to our clients at their request. We do not charge a fee for writing prescriptions for patients. We do, however, wish for your decision on where to have your pet’s prescription filled to be an informed one, and feel it is part of our responsibility as your pet’s doctor to advise you to consider the following:
We will provide a written prescription on request provided we have recently examined your pet and the particular medication or product is appropriate. The time frame of “recent examination” is at the doctor’s discretion but will never exceed a maximum of one year from your pets’ last annual Wellness examination. The written prescription will be provided directly to you. Given that review of your pet's history and prescriptions is required for any prescription we require 48 hours notice. Please keep in mind that we closed on weekends so this may increase the time needed to get approval.
If you choose internet or catalog sources, we advise you to copy your script and mail them the original. We recommend this process for the same reason we will only provide written prescriptions to you on our script pads and why we do not respond to fax requests or telephone calls from internet or catalog companies – We require our physical prescription form to be used so it can be traced back and authenticated in the event of medication error, failure or reaction occurs.
Please double check to ensure your prescription is sent, filled, labeled, shipped and used correctly. Carefully select your choice of pharmacy including thoroughly research for Board of Pharmacy disciplinary actions and is licensed in the state they reside in.
Some guarantees made by manufacturers regarding their products are null and void (not honored) if their products are purchased through non-approved channels. This includes the guarantee reimbursement for heartworm/intestinal parasite claims if your pet contracts heartworms or specific parasites while on prevention.
Some internet based pharmacies and catalog companies have been repeatedly reprimanded by the FDA and State Board of Pharmacy for violating prescribing procedure. Several well known companies have been cited and fined repeatedly for the same violations in the same state or several states!
Pharmaceuticals manufactured and labeled for use in other countries (Australia, New Zealand) have been illegally diverted and sold through some internet sources and catalogs in the United States. In addition, counterfeit medications, preventatives and products have been produced and sold to unsuspecting consumers. The FDA-CVM has documented these problems with the use of some internet sources. You may visit FDA.gov for more information on making sure you are purchasing from reputable sources for your pets medications.
As a small business we do our best to keep our costs as competitive as we can. If you want the convenience of ordering online and getting your medications shipped directly to you, but you want to keep the peace of mind of knowing your pets medications are coming from a reputable source, we have a online pharmacy with our main distributor who works directly with the drug manufacturers. Our online pharmacy offers competitive pricing and many rebates that are only available when purchasing from directly from a veterinarian's office. Visit our online store here to Shop online