Arizona West Veterinary Clinic Dr. Laura Millikan Hospital Policies

Hospital Policies Acknowledgment Form

Arizona West Veterinary Clinic is so pleased to be entrusted with the care of your pet. We know that your pet’s health and wellbeing is your utmost concern as it is ours. We value you and your pet and wish to make your visit with us the most educational and positive experience we can provide. We strive to stay current on the latest medicine and techniques for providing optimal veterinary care. We want to be sure that our clients are informed of our hospital policies. Please read the policies listed below and sign at the bottom of the page.

Policy 1: PAYMENT - Payment is due at the time services are rendered. We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Am. Express, Debit, Cash or Check. We require a valid driver’s license or ID for all checks written. All bounced checks will be subject to a $25.00 returned check fee. Failure to clear a bad check within 12 days of return will result in being forwarded to the County Attorney for further action and possible prosecution. All outstanding balances greater than 90 days will be referred to a collection agency and will be charged a collection fee of 40% of the balance due. You will no longer be considered a client and we will not provide services should you be referred to either the County Attorney or Collections.

Policy 2: AFTER HOURS EMERGENCY- We are proud to offer clients after hour emergency care either with our hospital or through our covering hospital. We have a partnership for on-call coverage with another local Animal Hospital. If your pet is having a life threatening emergency and must be seen after normal business hours please call our office number to reach our answering service. The Doctor or technician whom answers the ER call will advise you of the ER fee. This fee is for the ER call out only; it does NOT include anything other than the visit to the hospital after hours. Meds, surgery, treatment of any kind are additional and will be payable at the time of the visit. Please be prepared to pay your bill at the end of your visit, as we do not offer payment plans.

Policy 3: “NO SHOW’ APPOINTMENTS/SURGERIES - No show/same day cancellations of appointmentswill incur a $35.00 fee. There will be a $100.00 no show surgery fee for all missed surgeries without 12 hours notice. Failure to give us advance notice of at least 12 hours of a cancellation will automatically be charged to your account. This helps prevent a gross misuse of our appointment slots. We are very busy; many times we have a waiting list of pets needing to be seen and in order for our staff to provide the optimum care and to see potentially sick patients we must be assured of our schedule. Please respect our time as we value yours and be courteous to our staff by keeping your appointments.

Policy 4: URGENT APPOINTMENTS- If your pet is in need of being seen and our schedule is already booked you can elect to have your pet seen on an Urgent basis. There is an additional cost for this as it may cause the Doctor to get behind schedule and delay appointments that had already been previously scheduled. The minimum charge for an Urgent exam is $75. If you walk-in without a prior notice, this is considered an emergency and will be charged accordingly (min. daytime emergency fee is $100).

Policy 5: Prescription refills- We require 24 hours notice for all prescription refills. If you need your pets medication refilled within those 24 hours, there will be a $7.50 expedited refill charge.

Policy 6: Boarding - We offer boarding services to our clients with pets under 60 pounds. Clients are welcome to reserve boarding slots in advance. We do try to allow for last minute boarding as well. Your pet must be current on all vaccines, on a preventative flea/tick medication and have been examined by our doctor within the last year. Guests staying a total of 10 days or more maybe required to pay a deposit at time of drop off. Ask our staff for additional information.

Policy 7: Moral Support – We know that your pets are often one of many at home. It is often necessary to bring in one pet for vet care and can be tempting to bring in additional pets for moral support. Please try to avoid this as it really starts to make the exam rooms small when trying to see one patient and all the fur babies are seeking hugs and kisses from the doctors and staff.

Please sign below acknowledging that you have read and understand this notice. Thank you for your time.

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Signature Date