Appointment Deposit & No-Show Policy

Appointment Policy for Clients

Late cancellations and missed appointments can result in a loss of valuable medical care for patients who could have been seen, as well as missed teaching opportunities for our students. To assist with appointment adherence, we send reminder texts, calls, or emails at least two days before a scheduled appointment, unless it is scheduled within that time frame.

New Clients:

We welcome the opportunity to serve new clients and their pets. To help reduce no-shows and late cancellations, new clients will be asked to pay a deposit equal to the exam fee (per pet) at the time of scheduling. This deposit will be credited toward the invoice at checkout for the appointment.

Please note:

• If a new client does not show for the appointment, is more than 10 minutes late, or cancels/reschedules with less than 24 hours’ notice, the deposit will be forfeited, and a new deposit will be required to reschedule. (see Late Arrival Policy)
• If a new client cancels with more than 24 hours’ notice, the deposit will be refunded.

Existing Clients

We value our existing clients and are dedicated to providing the best care for their pets. We understand that sometimes life events make it difficult to cancel or reschedule appointments with ample notice. If you need to cancel or reschedule, we kindly ask for at least 24 hours’ notice, whenever possible.

• If you contact us prior to your appointment to cancel a non-surgical appointment (including calling afterhours and leaving a voice message or sending us an email), we will not require a deposit to reschedule.
• To ensure we can accommodate as many patients as possible, we reserve the right to request a deposit for a new appointment if there is a pattern of missed or late-canceled appointments. The decision to ask for a deposit will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and we appreciate your understanding in advance.
• If you arrive more than 10 minutes past the scheduled appointment time, you may need to reschedule the appointment for a later date, depending on availability. (see Late Arrival Policy)
• If you no-show a non-surgical appointment (did not contact MDVC prior to the start of your appointment), we reserve the right to request a deposit to schedule a new appointment.
• Deposits paid for appointments will be credited to the invoice at checkout of the appointment. If you miss the new appointment or do not contact us ahead of time to cancel or reschedule, you will forfeit the deposit and a new one will be requested to reschedule.
• If you need to cancel or reschedule a surgical appointment, we request at least 72 hours’ notice. This includes calling afterhours and leaving a voice message or sending us an email.
• If you miss a surgical appointment, do not cancel or reschedule with more than 72 hours’ notice, you will be asked to pay a $200 deposit to reschedule the surgery. The deposit amount will be credited to the invoice at checkout of the new appointment. Clients who cancel a surgical appointment with more than 72-hours' notice will have the deposit refunded to them.

Emergency Situations

We understand that emergencies happen. If you will be unable to make your scheduled appointment for any reason, please call us at (312) 226-2588 or email us at gethelp@medicaldistrictvet.com.

Late Arrival Policy for Clients

At Medical District Veterinary Clinic, we strive to provide the best care for every patient while respecting the time of our clients and staff. To ensure smooth operations and timely service, we have implemented the following late arrival policy:

1. Arriving Late to Your Appointment

Clients arriving less than 10 minutes past the scheduled appointment time will be accommodated, however, the appointment may be adjusted to address the most urgent concerns, as time may be limited.

Clients arriving more than 10 minutes past the scheduled appointment time may need to:

• Reschedule the appointment for a later date, depending on availability.
• Review with our staff if another option is available.

2. No-Show or Missed Appointments – please see our deposit policy

If you cannot make your appointment, please contact us as soon as possible.

Not showing to your appointment (or not contacting us ahead of time) may result in needing to pay a deposit to schedule a new appointment.

3. Emergency Situations

We understand that emergencies happen. If you are running late, please call us at (312) 226-2588, option 3 to let us know. We will do our best to accommodate you, but this will depend on our schedule for the day, and may need to review other options.

Our goal is to provide exceptional care to all patients. Arriving on time helps maintain our schedule and minimize delays for everyone. Thank you for understanding and helping us provide timely care to all our patients. If you have any questions about this policy, please don't hesitate to contact us.