New Prescription Policies at Synergy

I wanted to let you know that in light of changes in pharmacy capabilities and supply during this past year, we have updated our prescription supply and refill process. These changes are designed to maximize the chances that you receive your pet’s medications in a timely manner.

Prescription Filling Options

• We are carrying the majority of the medications that we prescribe in Synergy’s physical In-Clinic pharmacy. New clients pick up medications during their appointment. For existing clients, we can mail these medications to you or you can come to pick them up in person. There is no additional charge for shipping. This is the option most clients are choosing for convenience.
• If you choose to use an external pharmacy (eg Walgreens, Fred Meyer, Chewy, etc) we can provide you with a paper prescription to take/send to the pharmacy of your choice. Due to repeated difficulties communicating with external pharmacies, refill requests not being sent to us, and authorizations from us being lost/misplaced by them, we have decided it is in our patient’s best interest to allow clients to have more control over the external prescription filling process. You can set up a time to pick up the paper script from our facility or we can mail it to your address.
  • There are a very small number of exceptions to this rule – specifically compounded medications and controlled medications. We will let you know if your situation is one where we will continue to send prescriptions directly to the pharmacy.
• We are no longer using Covetrus as our online pharmacy for new prescriptions. This is because they have repeated backorders for our patients’ most commonly-used medications, resulting in lapses in patient care. Our goal is to eventually transition all prescriptions off Covetrus. If your pet has a prescription on Covetrus we will transfer it to our In-Clinic pharmacy at the next refill request unless you request otherwise.

Refills

• Please request refills at least one (1) week before you run out. This gives our team time to review your pet’s record and get clarification from you if needed. This also gives more time for mailed prescriptions to arrive.
• If you have a prescription you are getting from:
  • Synergy’s Internal Pharmacy: Use our Refill Request button on our website and we will send out more medication as long as refills are available.
  • An External Pharmacy: Contact the external pharmacy directly as long as refills are available as indicated on the medication’s prescription label. When no refills are available use our Refill Request button on our website to request additional medication. At that time we will prepare a paper script to mail to you or pick up, or contact you to schedule a recheck if your pet is due and hasn’t been scheduled yet.
• Rush/Last-Minute Prescription Requests:  We regretfully can no longer accommodate last-minute or rush prescriptions. Prescriptions that are requested to be filled within 72 hours will incur a $25 rush charge. Please contact us at least one (1) week ahead of when you need them to prevent a rush charge.

I recognize that these updates may represent an adjustment for you, and I thank you for your flexibility as we all navigate the best ways to provide care for you and your beloved pets during this time of change. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have,

Warmly,

Dr. Valli Parthasarathy, PhD, DVM, DACVB