Online Pharmacy Policy
Online pharmacies continue to be a growing resource for clients to obtain their pets' medications. Northland AH wants to make sure your pets' medications get to you in a timely manner and that you get the correct item. While clients can often obtain medications directly from our in-clinic pharmacy, they are also able to choose a standalone pharmacy as long as it is licensed within the United States. Here are the FDA recommendations on how to figure out if the pharmacy you are considering is safe:
Safe Signs – Your online pharmacy is likely safe if it:- Always requires a doctor's prescription
- Provides a physical address and telephone number in the United States.
- Has a licensed pharmacist on staff to answer your questions.
- Is licensed with a state board of pharmacy.
- Does not require a doctor’s prescription
- Is not licensed in the United States and by your state board of pharmacy
- Does not have a licensed pharmacist on staff to answer your questions
- Sends medicine that looks different than what you receive at your local pharmacy, or arrives in packaging that is broken, damaged, in a foreign language, has no expiration date, or is expired
- Offers deep discounts or prices that seem too good to be true
- Charges you for products you never ordered or received
- Does not provide clear written protections of your personal and financial information, or sells it to other websites
Northland Animal Hospital has its own guidelines and procedures to make sure medications are filled correctly and in a
timely manner. The first assessment is to verify the patient has a current doctor-client-patient-relationship. This is
generally defined as a visit for a wellness, well pet, or annual exam, which includes the comprehensive examination of a
healthy patient and a discussion of what the care needs are for the upcoming year, within the last 12 months. The next
assessment is if the pharmaceutical item was prescribed as part of a plan developed during a recent exam or is a chronic
medication. If the item is to treat a chronic condition, staff will verify that a blood analysis that monitors body
organ function has been done. If these criteria are met, a veterinarian will produce and transmit a prescription to the
pharmacy of the client’s choosing.
Northland AH follows these guidelines when working with licensed pharmacies:
Local pharmacy (Meijer, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, or locally owned/private pharmacy): Doctors will provide clients with a written prescription to take directly to their pharmacy. If a faxed prescription is requested Northland AH will make two attempts to send the prescription to a pharmacy. If these attempts fail, clients are welcome to pick up a written prescription to take to the pharmacy.
Chewy / PetMeds / AlliVet / VetRxDirect: Clients will need to initiate the request with these pharmacies so that an order number is generated. In the past, prescriptions sent before an order number was created resulted in delayed shipping, duplicate orders, and general confusion with the pharmacy. Once an order number is received from the pharmacy Northland will make two attempts to send the prescription. If these attempts fail, these pharmacies will only accept a written prescription mailed directly to them from the client.
PetCo: Will accept written prescriptions through the mail ONLY.
We hope this provides some clarity on prescription orders and how we can work with you to make sure your pets get their medications in a timely manner.
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