Prescription Policy
While we understand the convenience of online pharmaceutical companies, due to the high volume of requests we receive daily, we will be making some changes to how we process these requests.
Starting 10/01/2022, we will no longer approve prescription requests from outside pharmacies (e.g. chewy, petmeds,allivet, etc) by phone or by fax.
This DOES NOT mean you cannot get your pet's medication from an outside pharmacy.
We will provide you with a written paper script and you can use that to fill your prescriptions. Unfortunately we cannot mail these paper prescriptions in the post or send them electronically to pharmacies (veterinarians do not have access to the New York State online prescribing service).
For written prescription requests, please allow up to 7 business days for authorization by a prescribing veterinarian. As usual, please be sure to order your refills 1-2 weeks ahead of time to avoid any last minute delays. You can use the Petdesk app to request a refill.
If you would like the convenience of ordering prescriptions online and getting your pet's medications delivered directly to you, we have an online pharmacy which works directly with the manufacturers of the medications we work with. You can find our online pharmacy on our website.
One of the advantages of using our online pharmacy is that it integrates into our practice management system. This allows us to quickly confirm your prescriptions and inventory. When we write a paper prescription we have no visibility into whether the medication was dispensed or refilled and even labeled.
So why the change in policy?
Some online pharmacies do not purchase their medications directly from the manufacturer. They are often purchased from 3rd parties with no guarantee of how they have been stored or sourced. Alison Animal Hospital cannot verify if a pharmacy is FDA compliant.
We have experienced additional issues with 3rd party pharmacies including:
- Medications not being dispensed correctly or labeled correctly.
- Prescriptions approved or denied without our consent.
- Products arriving in secondary containers, not in the original packaging.
- Products (especially heartworm preventatives) which do not come with guaranteed compensation for contracting the disease while on the product.
Most importantly, the sheer volume of requests and the staff time required to deal with these issues is taking our staff away from providing the best care for our patients and clients.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, please reach out to a team member who can further assist you.
