New Client Information
Please read the information on this page before deciding to schedule an appointment. If an appointment is scheduled, we will ask you to provide an email so that we can send you directions and a link to our New Client Form. Thank you!
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) CLIENT INFORMATION
Even though Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, we are currently offering “curb-side” service only and not allowing clients into the building to protect our clients and employees. Even if vaccinated or previously recovered, clients must remain in their vehicle during their pet’s appointment. We will examine your pet inside the building and consult with you personally during the exam. Bathroom access is available. You may choose to cancel or postpone your pet’s appointment if you prefer not to have them examined in this manner.
~ ~ ~ Appointment Information and Policies ~ ~ ~
Patient and Staff Safety:
PLEASE inform us PRIOR to the exam if your pet may become nervous with restraint or close contact so that we may have you place a muzzle. Even if your pet has never snapped at, or bitten anyone before, our exam requires us to be eye-to-eye with your pet, and can cause some pets to become nervous and/or anxious. Please understand that this is for our protection and will not harm or traumatize your pet in any way. If your pet shows ANY sign of fear or aggression (growling, showing teeth, etc) we will require a muzzle to be placed by you to complete our exam. If you are unable (or unwilling) to muzzle your pet, when necessary, please understand that we may be unable to attempt or complete an exam. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!
If your pet does not like other animals, we can arrange a scenario so your pet will not encounter another pet while entering or exiting our building. Please call when you arrive to check in and notify the front desk.
If you are waiting for an appointment, please do not crowd the entryway even if your pet does well with other animals as many of our patients are fearful of other pets and people.
Appointment Policies and Information
Appointment Confirmation Policy: We will email, text or call to confirm your pet’s appointment. You must reply or call us at 517-655-2777 to confirm your appointment with at least 24 hours’ notice. It is your responsibility to confirm the appointment. If you do not call to confirm at least 24 hours before the start of your appointment, we may give your appointment away to another patient.
No Call/No Show Policy: We understand there are times when you must miss an appointment due to emergencies or obligations for work or family. However, when you do not call to cancel an appointment, you are preventing another patient from getting much needed treatment. Conversely, the situation may arise where another patient fails to cancel and we are unable to schedule you for a visit, due to a seemingly “full” appointment book. If an appointment is not cancelled at least 24 hours in advance or you do not show up for your appointment, you will be charged an $85 missed appointment fee. We will forgive any weather-related cancellations at any time, as most of our clients must travel a distance. Clients who “No Call/No Show” will NOT BE RESCHEDULED. If you disagree with this policy, please do not schedule an examination appointment at The Animal Ophthalmology Center.
If you think you may be running late for your appointment, please call our office so that we may advise you if your late arrival can be accommodated, or if we will need to reschedule your appointment. We understand that most of our clients must travel a great distance to our clinic and unforeseen traffic and weather-related issues may occur during your travels. In most cases, we can accommodate you, but please understand that if you arrive late, we may delay your appointment to keep on schedule and you will be worked in as soon as possible.
We make a sincere attempt to see you on time for your pet’s appointment. Because of the limited options for animal ophthalmologists in the state of Michigan, we sometimes have to accommodate emergency appointments. These emergencies may cause unavoidable delays in our schedule. We will provide you and your pet with the same careful attention devoted to others. Most new appointments last 20-40 minutes. Medical and surgical re-evaluation appointments vary between 5 and 20 minutes. Early morning appointments and appointments immediately after lunch are most likely to be on time.
Cost of Services
Our standard examination fee starts at $240. This includes a complete ophthalmic examination of both eyes, using slit lamp biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy and tonometry (measures eye pressure). Any additional diagnostic procedures that are indicated for your pet’s particular problem (such as tear testing, fluorescein staining of the eye, etc.) are not included in the standard examination fee. Medications, treatments and procedures are also additional. If you would like us to discuss any recommended testing or procedures prior to us performing them, we are happy to do so. Please let us know prior to the exam.
Financial estimates provided prior to us evaluating your pet, based on your description of the eye abnormality present, are approximate estimates. We cannot give an exact cost of services prior to seeing a patient.
It is absolutely critical that we perform our own exam and diagnostic testing (even if your veterinarian has previously done the same diagnostic tests) so that we can provide you with a correct diagnosis and treatment plan for your pet. We can accept lab work that was previously done by your veterinarian but this may also need to be repeated in certain cases. We understand that this might be frustrating, but it is absolutely critical and mandatory.
Surgery Information
Surgical appointment drop-off times are scheduled between 8am-10am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We try to schedule your pet’s drop-off time at least 2 hours before surgery is scheduled to allow for blood work, pre-medication, IV catheter placement, and other pre-surgical diagnostic testing and surgical preparation. Most pets are hospitalized for an average of 4-6 hours. PLEASE NOTE: Our surgery schedule may vary. Discharge times from the hospital are scheduled between 3-4:30pm. If you are able to receive text messages, we can notify you by text when your pet is admitted to the hospital, when surgery starts, and when they are moved into recovery (during which we will assign a pick-up time). If you are not able to receive text messages, we will call you when surgery is done and assign a pick-up time. Our surgeries do not require your pet to remain hospitalized overnight. We understand the importance of minimizing hospitalization, especially in older and anxious pets.
In certain cases, we are able to schedule an initial consultation and surgery on the same day. These are reserved for cases that are very likely to require surgery. Some cases are able to be treated medically and surgery is not always recommended. If we do surgery the same day as the consultation, pets already scheduled have priority in the surgery schedule order, therefore, your pet may not be discharged until late afternoon. Patients with cataracts cannot have a consultation and surgery on the same day as they may require medical treatment prior to surgery and we must also perform an eye exam to determine if your pet is a good candidate for surgery first. Therefore, we do not schedule initial consultation and surgery for the same day for patients with cataracts.
Payment Options:
- Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, personal checks (no foreign checks) and cash.
- Payment for services is due in full upon discharge of your pet. We do not offer in-house payment plans or in-house financing.
- We do offer a third-party credit card program called CareCredit for payments: (please apply before your appointment if you would like to use this option. If you want to apply in the office, please arrive 30 min early to submit an application). Payment plans are accepted through CareCredit only. See Above. Please click here to apply now. By phone (800) 365-8295. If you already have an account, you may bring your card with two pieces of ID. Cardholder MUST be present at the time of sale.
- CARE CREDIT TERMS OFFERED:
- 6 months, no interest term for any amount over $200. (Amounts under $200 will only have the first billing cycle (21 days) interest free) WE DO NOT OFFER 12-,18-, or 24-month interest free terms.
- 24–48-month term with 14.90% interest rate on amounts from $1000 and up.
- 60-month term with 14.90% interest rate on amounts from $2500 and up.
Additional Policies:
- Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in human or veterinary medicine with any medical or surgical treatment because the ultimate outcome of any medical or surgical therapy depends on the response of the patient receiving treatment. Although the same exact treatment can be done for many different patients, each patient may respond differently, and unpredictably.
- Returned checks are subject to a $35 NSF (non-sufficient funds fee).
- It is NOT an option to decline blood work (CBC and Chem Profile) prior to pursuing anesthesia/surgery at The Animal Ophthalmology Center. You may have your regular veterinarian perform this necessary test prior to your pet’s surgery day, or you may have us perform it on the day of surgery.
- Due to changes in sales tax laws for veterinarians, beginning January 2013 we must charge sales tax on all items purchased (medications, pill pockets, harnesses)
