LATE ARRIVAL, CANCELLATION, & NO SHOW POLICIES
At Sullivan County Animal Hospital, we understand sometimes you may need to cancel or reschedule your appointment. However, if you do not call in advance to cancel your appointment, you may be preventing other pets from getting much needed care. A veterinary/client relationship is built on mutual trust and respect. As such, we strive to be on time for your scheduled appointment, and ask you to give us a call if you are unable to keep your appointment.
As a courtesy, we provide reminder calls before your appointment. Our Late Arrival, Cancellation, and No Show Policies are outlined below, and will be noted in the medical record and computer.
Late Arrival Policy: We make every effort to be on time for all our appointments. As such, when even just one patient arrives late, it throws off the entire schedule for the rest of the day. In addition, rushing or “squeezing in” an appointment shortchanges our patients and contributes to a decreased quality of care for that patient and EVERY patient scheduled afterward. Therefore, a client who arrives 15 minutes or more late to their scheduled appointment will be rescheduled.
Cancellation Policy: In order to be respectful of the medical needs of all patients, please be courteous and call our office promptly if you are unable to show up for your appointment. If it is necessary to cancel your scheduled appointment, we require you to call at least 24 hours in advance for exam appointments and at least 48 hours in advance for appointments requiring sedation, anesthesia, surgery, or dentistry. Appointments are in very high demand, and your early cancellation will allow another patient access to timely veterinary care, especially for those who need to be fasted prior. If it is after hours, you may leave a message on the office answering machine.
No Show Policy: A No Show is when a client misses their appointment without canceling it. A failure to be present at the time of a scheduled appointment will be noted in the record and computer as a No Show. The 1st time there is a No Show, we will contact you to inform you of your missed appointment, reschedule your appointment, and remind you of our No Show Policy. In the unlikely event of a 2nd No Show, your appointment may be rescheduled once prepayment of the non-refundable $50 Reservation Fee is made. This fee is exclusively used to rebook your reservation for the second time and will not be put towards your upcoming, rescheduled, appointment. In the extremely unlikely event of a 3rd No Show, your appointment may be rescheduled once prepayment of the non-refundable $100 Reservation Fee is made. This fee is exclusively used to rebook your reservation for the third time, and will NOT be put towards your upcoming, rescheduled, appointment. In the highly improbable event of a 4th No Show within 1 year, you will be discharged from the Hospital. Reinstatement may be considered on a case-by-case basis and will be at the sole discretion of the Hospital. A non-refundable $250 Reinstatement Fee must be prepaid prior to reinstatement.
We appreciate your patience, understanding, and support, and will continue to do all we can to serve everyone’s diverse needs!