Galena Square Veterinary Clinic Prescription Policy

Galena Square Veterinary Clinic STRONGLY suggests that clients use their local veterinary pharmacy for their pets’ medication needs.   Should you decide to use an online (internet based) pharmacy warehouse you should be aware of the following:

1) Most pharmacy warehouses cannot obtain specific veterinary products directly from the manufacturer.

2 )Often, sales from pharmacy warehouses are through non-approved channels; most product guarantees from manufacturers are null and void if their products are obtained through non-approved channels. This includes the guarantee reimbursement programs for flea control as well as all heartworm and intestinal parasite claims.

3) Most pharmacy warehouses will not divulge from whom they are purchasing their veterinary specific products.  Products likely have come through numerous channels and proper handling (such as refrigeration) may not have been followed.

4) Pharmaceuticals manufactured and labeled for use in other countries (namely Australia) have been illegally diverted and sold through many of these discount houses in the United States.

5) Counterfeit products have been produced. More information may be found on The Environmental Protection Agency's websites.

6) The FDA and State Boards of Pharmacy have cited some discount houses for violating prescribing procedures. One very large pharmacy warehouses was fined over $100,000.00 by the EPA and Florida Department of Health. You will find more information regarding this on the following website:

7) Galena Square Veterinary Clinic provides you, our client, with convenience and competitive prices.  Not only are our prices competitive, but you will also find them lower in many cases!

We understand that sometimes our clients request a prescription for an outside pharmacy and Galena Square Veterinary Clinic will be glad to provide the prescription under the following circumstances:

Our veterinarians must have a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship.  This includes having seen the pet within the last 12 months (for a healthy pet) or every 3-6 months for pets with serious medical issues.  Under some circumstances blood tests or other diagnostics may be required for continued monitoring of your pet.  This is not just clinic policy, but also federal law.

The diagnosis (reason) to prescribe the medication must be made by a veterinarian.  If your pet has seen a veterinarian other than those at Galena Square Veterinary Clinic, the referring veterinarian will need to send or fax a prescription and we will be happy to fill it.

The veterinarian will prescribe what is medically and legally necessary.  While we work hard to coordinate the needs of our clients with the prescriptions written- not all prescriptions can or will be written for a full year.  Ultimately it is up to our doctors how they choose to write the prescription.

All prescriptions will be printed or written on special prescription paper which cannot be duplicated.  Prescriptions will be available for pick-up at our office during regular business hours.  Unfortunately due to unethical practices at several “online” and “warehouse pharmacies” Galena Square Veterinary Clinic will not fax or phone in a prescription except under exceptional circumstances.