Policies & Procedures

Please review our office's policies and procedures. Thank you!

1. Payment is due at the time services are rendered. A deposit is required for major surgery, overnight hospitalizations and/or extensive treatments. For your convenience, we accept cash, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Scratch Pay  and Care Credit. We also accept checks. There is a $35.00 fee for all returned checks. If balances are not paid and require collection processing, you will be responsible not only for the balance due, but also any collection and/or attorney fees incurred in collecting the debt.
2. If your pet is being admitted for illness or injury, you may be required to pay at least 50% of your pet's estimated medical care plan.
3. For all new patient appointments, there is a reservation fee per pet to hold your pet(s)’ appointment(s). The deposit is required at the time of scheduling your appointment. We do allow a 24-hour grace period for reservation fee submission thereafter the appointment slot will be released to another patient. The deposit will go directly toward the cost of your pet’s first visit. Deposit is only refundable if your pet’s appointment is canceled with a minimum of 24-hours notice.
4. Our office adheres to a late policy of 10 minutes. If you arrive more than 10 minutes  after your pet’s scheduled appointment, you may be asked to reschedule. If we are able to accommodate your pet after a late arrival, we will consider the appointment an ‘extended exam’ as the visit will go  beyond your pet’s allotted appointment slot affecting other scheduled patients. Extended appointments do incur an additional fee.
5. Our office requires a 24-hour notice of appointment cancellations. If an appointment is not canceled, your account will be charged an examination fee after two “no-show, non-cancelled” appointments and payment will be due prior to receiving any other services, medications, products or written prescriptions. 
6. All new client appointments require a reservation fee of $85 at the time of scheduling your appointment.This will be used credit toward your pet’s first visit. The reservation fee is due at the time of scheduling. If you are unable to pay the reservation fee at the time of scheduling, please make sure you contact us by phone within one business day of scheduling your appointment. If we are unable to hear from you, we will release your appointment slot to another patient. Your reservation fee will be fully refundable if you cancel your appointment with 24- hours notice of your appointment time. 
7. Surgery, dental, anesthesia and sedation appointments require a 48-hour notice of cancellation. Failure to notify the office within 48-hours prior to the pet’s admit appointment will incur a $250 cancellation fee and the payment will be required prior to receiving any other services, written prescriptions or products. 
8. For appointments that are scheduled with visiting veterinary specialists, with whom we have requested an in-person or virtual consult or service, we do require a 48-hour notice for any cancellations. We will also require a pre-payment of half the estimated cost of services scheduled to be performed for your pet. Due to the nature of these appointments any cancellations less than 24 hours before the appointment may incur a cancellation fee of $250.
9. We do offer a 10% discount off bathing, boarding and appointment fees (doctor’s exam, office visits, technician appointments) for University of Maryland students and faculty, active military personnel and senior citizens (aged 67+). Once you present your valid identification, you will be granted immediate access to these discounts however, we are unable to retroactively discount any previous invoices. 
10. We offer wellness plans for pets who are our patients. If you would like to have your pet signed up for a wellness plan, your pet must have at least one physical examination appointment with one of our veterinarians. Only after this introductory examination is your pet eligible to utilize services covered under their wellness plan at a separate appointment. (Please see the wellness plan contracts for further information on wellness plan policies)
11. Discounts from wellness plans, active promotions or client qualification cannot be combined. The best discount available will be applied when applicable. 
12. For pets 7 years or younger, to be considered current on their examination, they must have had a comprehensive physical exam within the last 12 months. For pets 7 years and older, to be considered current on their examination, they must have had a comprehensive physical exam within the last 6 months. 
13. All patients require an appointment in order to be seen. Walk-ins will be seen on an emergency basis and an emergency exam fee will be charged. If our doctors deem that your pet will need extended care, your pet may be referred to a 24-hour facility.
14. Our hospital requires all pets to be current on their physical exam in order to receive any services (i.e. nail trims, vaccinations, etc.) products, medications or written prescriptions. All rabies vaccines must be given by a licensed veterinarian per Maryland state law and therefore require a physical exam fee.
15. APAW Veterinary Hospital is not a 24-hour facility. APAW does not have personnel onsite that provides medical care after hours with the exception of care for our boarding patients that have a scheduled reservation. Any after-hours emergencies or medical transfers will be directed to the local emergency hospitals. These telephone numbers are available on our after-hours answering system.
16. Pets can only be picked up from our facility during our normal business hours. If you are unable to pick up your pet during those times, you will incur a fee based on your pet’s level of care (i.e. boarding or hospitalization).
17. Medical records requests require 3 business days to process. There is a fee associated with this process as mandated by Maryland state law.
18. If your pet has pet insurance and you need us to submit any paperwork on your behalf, we require that the request for submission be made within 7 days of your last invoice date. Please allow up to 72 hours for submittals to be completed.
19. All prescription refills require 48-hour notice. All food refills require 5-7 business days to process. All information must be left with a client service representative or on our prescription/food refill telephone line. Failure to do so may result in the delay of your pet’s refill.
20. All requests for written prescriptions must be approved and signed by one of our staff veterinarians. These requests require 48-hours notice; requests can be submitted through our pharmacy’s voicemail line or by email. If you are requesting a prescription for a medication or dietary item we have readily available at our hospital or on our online pharmacy, there will be an associated cost of $5.50 per written prescription. If you are requesting or require a written prescription for a medication we do not carry or needs to be compounded, there is no additional cost for this prescription or for a phone-in prescription to the pharmacy of your choice. If you are in need of a written prescription for medication your pet uses long-term for the prevention, management and treatment of a chronic ailment, injury, illness or condition, your pet must be current on their exam (and in some cases current on required lab testing). Prescriptions for long-term medications will be written with enough quantities or refills to allow continued treatment until the patient’s next exam due date or required lab testing due date, whichever is earliest. Once a written prescription has been  issued, it is the pet parent’s responsibility to submit the prescription to the pharmacy of their choice  and use the medication as prescribed. If your pet has any issues with the product received, you must contact the supplying  pharmacy directly for any questions and concerns.  
21. For most prescription medication and items dispensed, we are unable to accept them for returns/refunds once it has left the facility. In some cases, the manufacturers of certain products offer credits for flavored medications, supplements and dietary items that patients do not like. In these cases, you must bring the product back to the office in the original packaging within 30 days of purchase after which a member of our  leadership team will proceed to begin the return process directly with the manufacturer or company representative. To process these refunds, we are sometimes required to share information from  your pet’s account (age, breed, home zip code etc.) but we will never share personal information such as emails, phone numbers and full addresses. These refund requests can take up to 72 hours to process and we will contact you upon completion. 
22. It is our standard to send reminders pertinent to your pet’s wellness exams, health screenings and immunizations by email. If you do not wish to receive your reminders by email and prefer a mailed postcard, this must be indicated on your pet’s patient registration form.
23. Our hospital requires that all pets using our boarding and grooming services be up-to-date on bi-annual fecal tests and vaccinations which are Rabies, Bordetella, Distemper (DA2PP or DHPP), Canine Leptospirosis & Canine Influenza (CIV) for dogs and Rabies and Distemper for cats. We also require that your pet have a current physical exam with one of our veterinarians. These preventive care services must be valid for 4 weeks beyond your pet’s schedule pick update to ensure your pet will still be protected in the event that your plans for pick-up change. Alternatively, preventive care items that are coming due can be updated under our veterinarian(s)’ supervision while your pet(s) are in our care. We require that boarding pets be given a dose of flea and tick prevention prior to coming in for boarding. If your pet has not had flea and tick prevention, we will provide a dose for your pet at the expense of the owner. If your pet does meet one or more of our boarding requirements, your pet’s stay may incur additional charges along with the charge(s) for completing the services required for boarding. If your pet is going to be boarding for more than 14 days, we require a deposit of half of the estimated total for the services.