Outside Pharmacy Policy

EAH supports your choice of pharmacy, whether you fill your prescriptions at our hospital, our online pharmacy, which is supported by the largest US veterinary drug distributor, other online outlets, or your local brick-and-mortar pharmacy.

At this time, we are experiencing a lot of outside pharmacy errors and we are fielding a large number of phone calls associated with just one single prescription. To prevent errors and to avoid overburdening our front desk and technical staff we will fax one non-controlled script to the pharmacy of your choice. If the pharmacy is unable to fill that medication due to their error or reported non-receipt of the confirmed faxed prescription, we will then ask you to pick up a hard copy of your written script for you to give to your pharmacy.

We hope by streamlining our pharmacy policy we will ensure you will receive your pet’s medication in a timely, efficient, and accurate manner.

At Easthampton Animal Hospital, your pet’s health and safety are always our top priority. With that in mind, we want to inform you of an important policy change regarding how we process prescriptions through online pharmacies.

🚫 Starting July 1st, 2025, we will no longer approve prescription requests from third-party pharmacies such as Chewy, 1800PetMeds, Amazon, and similar vendors.

If you choose to use one of these services, we are happy to provide you with a written prescription that can be submitted directly to the pharmacy of your choice. Written prescriptions can be picked up at our hospital for your convenience.

Why We’re Making This Change

We understand that online pharmacies offer convenience—but we’ve seen firsthand the risks they can pose. Here’s why we’re making this decision:

🐾 1. Product Safety Is Non-Negotiable

Not all online medications are created equal. In fact, many third-party sellers are not purchasing directly from manufacturers, meaning some products may be expired, counterfeit, or improperly stored. This can result in ineffective—or even harmful—treatments for your pet.

🐾 2. Frequent Errors in Prescriptions

We’ve encountered numerous cases where third-party pharmacies have:

  • Dispensed the wrong dosage or incorrect medication
  • Approved medications without a valid veterinarian prescription
    These errors can have serious health consequences for pets, and unfortunately, they’re more common than you’d expect.

🐾 3. Time Away from Patient Care

Online pharmacies often bombard us with multiple daily requests via fax, email, and even phone calls—many of which are duplicate or unnecessary.
These interruptions take valuable time away from our veterinary team and can delay prescription approvals for all clients. In some cases, refills are requested even when the pet owner hasn’t asked for one.

🐾 4. Dosing & Refill Tracking Concerns

When prescriptions are filled externally, we lose the ability to accurately track refills and ensure proper dosing intervals, which compromises patient safety. Consistency in care matters—and we want to ensure every prescription is handled with precision.

What You Can Do Instead

If you prefer the convenience of online ordering, we encourage you to use our trusted online pharmacy, which ensures:

  • Manufacturer-approved products
  • Proper storage and shipping practices
  • Accurate prescription fulfillment
  • Easy refill tracking and communication with your pet’s care team

We’re always here to support your pet’s wellbeing—and we appreciate your understanding as we implement this change to maintain the highest standard of care.

📩 Questions? Give us a call at 413-527-0127 or email:  info@easthamptonanimalhospital.com.

🩺 Thank you for trusting Easthampton Animal Hospital with your pet’s health.