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Clinic Policies

New Clients

New clients are required to pay a deposit when making their appointment to secure their appointment. The deposit amount equals the cost of the exam and will be applied to your first visit. Cancellations less than 1 business day before a visit will result in forfeiture of the deposit. Cancellations greater than 24 hours or 1 business day may be refunded to your payment method or credited to your account for future use.

A client is considered “new” if we have never seen you as a client in the past or for existing clients that we have not seen in over 3 years.

We do ask that if you are transferring from another clinic that you grant permission to your existing veterinarian to share your pet’s medical history with us or you are able to provide a digital or printed copy of your pets medical history prior to your pets first visit. This will help us prepare for the first visit with your pet.

Surgical and Dental Scheduling

Effective January 1, 2025, all surgical and dental appointments will require a $100 deposit at the time of booking.

  • The deposit will be applied to the cost of your pet’s procedure.
  • Cancellations with less than 72 hours (or 3 business days) notice will result in the forfeiture of the deposit.
  • For cancellations made with sufficient notice, the deposit may be refunded or applied to your account for future use.

This policy helps us manage our schedule efficiently and ensures that we can provide the best care for all of our clients and their pets.

If you have any questions or need assistance scheduling your appointment, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your understanding and continued trust in our care.

The Jelsema Vet Clinic Team

Prescription Policy

At Jelsema Vet Clinic, our goal is to provide excellent, focused care for your animal companions. Our doctors and support staff value their relationship with you and aim to provide comprehensive and personalized care. That’s why we are updating our prescription policy to be more in line with these priorities and better serve you and your family.

We will no longer be communicating directly with third-party pet med pharmacies such as PetMeds and Chewy but instead will provide written prescriptions if you choose. This is due to several concerns.

  • Manufacturer’s product guarantees are voided when the product is purchased through unlicensed channels. Big box pharmacies often obtain medications through third party companies (gray-market brokers) that divert these veterinary products around the intended chain of custody set aside by the manufacturers. This action then nullifies the warranties on these products.
  • There is increasing concern about the legitimacy and storage of medications sold online. By communicating directly with the pharmacy, we feel it misleads our clients into feeling that we approve of the safety and efficacy of what they are purchasing when actually we cannot vouch for the safe storage and legitimacy of medications not sold through authorized veterinary channels.
  • Massive time-loss involved in third-party prescription approvals. When we receive a prescription request from a third-party pharmacy, it begins an unnecessarily lengthy and redundant process that takes time away from your pets and ties up our phone lines. We are choosing as a hospital to spend our time focusing on taking care of our patients and clients instead of answering duplicate faxes and calling pharmacies.

 

We understand that cost is the main reason that our clients purchase from outside pharmacies and online retailers. We do our very best to make our medications and preventatives affordable and provide rebates to make sure that our prices are competitive. Most importantly, by purchasing directly from our hospital and from our online store, you are supporting our local business. Rather than send your dollars off to a large corporation, we would hope that you would choose to support our small business and shop locally.

 

We would like to encourage our clients to order medications and preventatives directly from us through direct purchase at our hospital or from our own online store. Because our online store is part of our clinic infrastructure you will not need a written prescription if you order this way. Our hospital and online store’s supply chain is 100% secure. From the time the medication you order is manufactured, all the way to when you are going to give it to your pet, it has been handled, stored and packaged in compliance with manufacturer guidelines. The product you receive is guaranteed to be the name-brand medication in the proper dosage and packaging. Medications purchased directly from us and our online store are guaranteed by the product’s manufacturer and most importantly by us, your pet’s veterinarian.

 

We absolutely support our client’s choice to choose where they obtain their pet’s medications and are happy to accommodate a request to do so. Clients who opt to obtain their pet’s medication through big box stores will simply need to pick up a written prescription at our hospital. Note that we cannot email written prescriptions but if you are unable to pick up a physical copy, we can mail one to you for a flat fee.

 

If you have any further questions about our policy, please do not hesitate to contact us. We thank you for your support!

 

Your Friends at Jelsema Vet Clinic!

VetSource Pharmacy

Late Arrival Policy

We kindly ask that you arrive a few minutes before your scheduled appointment to ensure you receive the full duration of your exam. To streamline your visit, please complete all new client and patient history forms in advance, allowing our medical team to prepare for your pet’s visit.

A grace period of 5 minutes is granted for unforeseen delays. However, if you arrive more than 10 minutes late, we will do our best to accommodate you by offering one of the following options:

  • Being seen as a work-in (based on availability).
  • Day admission for your pet.
  • Rescheduling your appointment.

Thank you for understanding and helping us maintain a smooth and efficient schedule for all our clients and their pets.

Appointment and Surgery Cancellations/No Shows

We value the trust you place in us to care for your beloved pets. To ensure we can continue providing exceptional service to all our clients, we are introducing a new cancellation policy effective January 1, 2025.

Cancellation Policy Details:

  • Appointments: Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours (or 1 business day) in advance. Late cancellations or no-shows will incur a fee of $50.31.
  • Surgeries and Dentals: Cancellations must be made at least 72 hours (or 3 business days) in advance. Late cancellations or no-shows will result in the loss of the surgery deposit or $100.

We understand that unexpected situations may arise, and we will do our best to accommodate you when possible. However, these policies are necessary to help us cover the costs of preparation, staffing and to allow us to offer the time to another patient in need.

How to Reschedule or Cancel:

If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please contact our office via phone at (616) 662-6230 or email us at jelsemavetclinic@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We look forward to continuing to serve you and your pets with the highest level of care.

The Staff & Management

Jelsema Veterinary Clinic