Policy Information

Payment in full is required at the time of services rendered. We are unable to accept partial payments or provide payment plans.. We are happy to provide estimates prior to diagnostics and treatment. We accept cash, all major credit or debit cards, CareCredit, and Scratchpay.

Unlike human insurance, you are responsible for paying our office directly and then submitting all invoices for reimbursement. Therefore, you can elect to use any company and or policy for your pets. Commonly used companies include Trupanion, Nationwide, Pet's Best, etc. We encourage you to review the companies individually and check what their policy may cover to find the best fit for your needs. We are happy to provide medical records for any insurance claims, but please note we do have a 2-business-day turnaround on all requests to ensure the medical records are finalized prior to submitting them. We do not accept payment directly from insurance companies and require payment for services at the time of services rendered.

All patients must be examined at least once annually (12-month period) to maintain a valid doctor-patient relationship. We are unable to legally provide medical recommendations, prescriptions, etc. for patients not examined by our doctors or that are outside the parameters of a valid doctor-patient relationship. Client accounts are considered inactive if there is a 2-year or longer gap in patient care.

We have a one-time reservation deposit policy for new clients or for clients reestablishing care. The payment will be applied to the cost of the initial appointment, covering the exam cost on the day of the appointment. Please know that if you need to reschedule or cancel that appointment, do so at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment time, and that fee will be reimbursed to you. However, if you cancel or reschedule that appointment in less than 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time or if you do not arrive for your scheduled appointment within 10 minutes of that scheduled time, then you forfeit this appointment reservation fee. This reservation fee is required at the time of scheduling the initial appointment. Reservation fees can be made over the phone with any major credit or debit card, care credit, or cash deposits may be made in person.

We will do our best to review, approve, and refill prescription requests in a timely manner. We ask for a 24-hour business day notice for any prescription product requests, including diets, preventatives, and medications, to ensure we have the product on hand and able to dispense for your pet. Similarly, we ask for advance notice if written prescriptions are being requested. Please advise our staff if you need medications to be compounded or pills to be cut; please note there is an additional fee associated with these services.

Here at NorthPaws, we are following the recommendations of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), who follows the DEA recommendation about the corporate pharmacy practice of requiring the DEA number for non-controlled medications.

If you find that you are completely out of medications or will run out on the weekend(and it's Friday), your medication can still be processed; however, there will be a rush fee of $20 added. This does not apply to emergency backup medications, i.e seizure disorders, as these are not daily medications.

If you would like to utilize a third-party online pharmacy, we can prepare a written prescription for you to submit to the pharmacy directly to complete your order. We still request a 24 hour notice. We are unable to verify where third-party pharmacies are obtaining their products, and we cannot be assured that they are the “same” product as if you purchased from NorthPaws or through our online pharmacy– Vet’s First Choice. We will not provide any email, fax, or phone authorizations. Unfortunately, when we did authorize by these means, there was a lot of miscommunication between the online pharmacy and clients. To remove ourselves as the “middle man,” we implemented this policy. Written prescriptions can either be picked up directly at NorthPaws Animal Hospital, or we can mail them to your address via the United States Postal Services. We will only mail written prescriptions directly to you. For food prescriptions, and only food prescriptions, we can email you a copy of a written prescription for you to submit to the pharmacy.

Here at NorthPaws, we are following the recommendations of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), who follows the DEA recommendations about the corporate pharmacy practice of requiring the DEA number for non-controlled medications.

* DEA numbers are used by medical professionals, such as veterinarians, for the sole purpose of prescribing "controlled drugs" like narcotic pain medications. A DEA number is not legally required to be referenced for non-controlled substances like antibiotics and many other medications.

We are happy to provide you with copies of your pet’s medical records. Please allow up to 2 business days for those records to be sent to you or your insurance company. We will do our best to have completed medical records to you or their respective destination as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we can no longer guarantee same-day or next-day turnaround due to rising demand. For any medical emergencies in which medical records need to be sent to another facility, please call the office. We will do our best to expedite this process.

Appointment & Late Arrival Policy

 We kindly ask that all clients arrive and check in by their scheduled appointment time. Late arrivals, last-minute changes, and no-shows affect our ability to provide timely care to all patients. If we need to adjust your appointment due to staffing, we’ll notify you as early as possible. To stay on schedule, we are implementing the following policy for avoidable scheduling issues:

If you arrive more than 5 minutes late, the following may apply:

• You will be asked to reschedule the appointment.
• Our doctors may see your pet(s) on a work-in basis. There may be extended wait times for your pet(s) to be seen.

If you're running late, please call us in advance (if safely able) so we can determine if we can still accommodate your pet.

 Missed Appointments & Repeated Tardiness

 Tardiness (arriving over 5 minutes late), cancellations/reschedules with less than 24 hours’ notice, and no-shows will be recorded. Check-in time is based on our front desk clock. After 3 or more occurrences in a calendar year, the following steps will apply:

1. First our management team will issue the account holders a warning letter.
2. Further occurrences will incur a formal notice requiring deposits at the time of scheduling for all future appointments:
   1. Deposits are non-refundable for no-shows or changes made with less than 24 hours’ notice. With 24+ hours’ notice, deposits may be refunded or applied to a rescheduled visit. For regular appointments, the deposit amount will be equal to the associated doctor or technician appointment fee. For surgical appointments, the deposit amount will be equal to the low end of the estimated cost.
   2. Future late arrivals may incur a $30 late fee if we are still able to accommodate your pet within the remaining appointment time. If we are unable to do so, your deposit will be forfeited and a new deposit will be required to reschedule.
3. Deposit requirements may be lifted after a probation period of consistent on-time attendance.

Note: You will not be penalized for rescheduling due to unavoidable circumstances, office closures, or delays on our end that prevent you from being seen. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping us provide the best care for all pets.