Over the last few years, Balsam Animal Hospital has experienced substantial growth in our client base as well as an increase in demand for our services. To accommodate as many patients and clients as possible, we have decided to make some amendments to our previous existing policies. As a small, single-doctor practice, our entire staff works long hours to keep up with client demand. We do our best to ensure we make the most of every minute that we are open so that we can see as many patients as possible, while still maintaining the high quality of medicine you have come to expect from us.
Pet Medication and Food Refills
To ensure accuracy and attention to detail for each prescription refill and specialized food request, we have implemented a 24-hour processing time for all orders. This timeframe helps us to ensure your prescription will be ready the next day and allows us to accommodate the higher demand on our in-house pharmacy. If you need a refill completed the same day due to unforeseen circumstances, we might be able to expedite the filling of your pet’s prescription medication for a $15 fee if the requested medication is available.
Waitlist
Due to an increase in patients, we are facing a higher volume of sick animals than ever before. We assure you that we do our absolute best to get your sick animal seen as soon as possible. To help with this process, we have adopted a waitlist protocol for sick animals that need to be seen sooner than the next available appointment. We are making this option available to clients who can bring their pets in on short notice (2-3 hours) if we receive a cancellation. While being on this list does not guarantee an earlier appointment time, it does help us triage and see patients who require prompt medical attention when we have an opening.
Missing your Appointment
Appointments are increasingly in demand, forcing us to book appointments a few weeks out. If you are unable to make your appointment time for any reason, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible. This way, we can fill your appointment slot with a sick animal from our waitlist. To ensure compliance, a no-show fee of $50 per visit will be charged if you do not call us at least 24 hours before your appointment time. Your first no-show will not incur a fee, however, clients are expected to assume the responsibility for keeping their appointments and for arriving on time. If a client should exceed 5 no-call/no-shows, they will earn a “walk-in only” status and are expected to pay any existing charges on the account beforehand. The count will be reset on an annual basis but the charges will remain.
Late Policy
Our appointments are typically 20 minutes long. To examine your animal thoroughly and ensure they receive the medical attention they deserve, we will not be seeing patients who are more than 10 minutes late for their appointment. You will be asked to reschedule for a later time and a no-show will be added to the account. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we must maintain our schedule as closely as possible to accommodate our patients and other clientele.
Client Behavior Policy
We recognize that dealing with financial and medical needs can be very stressful, however, it is not an excuse to treat others poorly. To ensure the continued mental health and well-being of our staff and clientele, we will be implementing a dismissal policy to handle rude, demanding, aggressive, abusive, or disrespectful behavior directed toward staff members, patients, or other clients. If a staff member encounters a client displaying any such type of behavior, the client may be dismissed from our clinic with no appeals process. We greatly value the safety and mental well-being of our staff and our clients and are committed to creating a space that reflects that.
We thank you for your time and your loyalty to our practice. As always, we look forward to serving you and doing all that we can to ensure the health of your furry family members!
