VMSC New Appointment Deposit (Missed Appointment)

Subject to modification by the VTH Administrative Team without approval.

Policy

Small Animal Clinic and Veterinary Medicine South Clinic clients scheduling new appointments are required to pay the applicable office visit fee when scheduling the appointment.  This deposit will be applied to the client’s account when the patient arrives for the appointment. If the appointment is not canceled one week before the scheduled appointment, the credit will not be refunded.

 Clients who do not have a credit card will be requested to send a check for the visit fee. If the check has not been received one week before the appointment, the appointment will be canceled, and the client will be notified.

 Appointments scheduled for the same day will not be required to prepay the office visit fee when scheduling.

Guidelines

To discourage no-shows, clients will be asked to prepay the applicable office visit fee when scheduling a new appointment. The prepayment will act as a non-refundable deposit on the upcoming appointment.  Same-day appointments will not require pre-payment.

The prepayment may be waived when deemed appropriate because of special circumstances.

Missed appointments cause a loss of revenue and teaching opportunities for students. As a service to clients, reminder calls or emails shall be sent at least one week prior to the scheduled appointment.

 In the event of inclement weather or other circumstances, the charge may be refunded at the discretion of the VTH administrators.

Procedure (if applicable)

1. When a client calls to schedule a new appointment (not a follow-up or recheck) they shall be asked to pay the applicable office visit fee for that appointment. Once paid, this amount will be credited to the client’s account as a deposit.  
   
   
2. In the event the client misses the appointment or fails to cancel the appointment one week prior, the deposit will be credited to the appropriate service, removing the credit balance on the account. A Missed appointment Procedure code will be entered on the record by the Client Services Staff.  Continued missed appointments may result in the termination of client privileges.
   
   
3. When a referring veterinary clinic calls to schedule an appointment on behalf of the client, the appointment will be made, and client contact information will be forwarded to client services staff to contact the client for prepayment.
   
   
4. At the time of payment, the client may request a copy of the invoice/statement.
   
   

Definitions (if applicable)

New Appointment: an appointment that is not a follow-up, bandage change, or lab work only.

Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH): The collective clinical services of the Large Animal Clinic, Midwest Equine, the Small Animal Clinic, and the Veterinary Medicine South Clinic.