As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, House Call Pet Service with Dr. Jennifer Barrington is committed to providing safe service for you and your pet. As part of the changes I’m making, I’m introducing online video appointments (Telemedicine) and encouraging pet owners to opt for such appointments when possible.
When to Use Video Appointment
A video appointment with the pet-parent and the pet can replace an in-person appointment for:
- Diagnosing external issues such as skin irritations
- Treatment follow-up, such as to examine an incision or wound
- Establishing care to allow treatment of fleas, dewormer
- Difficult, nervous, or fractious patients, allowing a “pre-visit” to allow a sedative to be prescribed prior to an in-home exam
- Issues that can be diagnosed based on symptoms like in the case of behavioral issues
For all other appointments, please contact me.
Can Anyone Book a Video Appointment or Does My Pet Have to Be a Current Patient?
At this point, Dr. Barrington can see new patients for video appointments. The only restriction is that Dr. Barrington is only licensed in Oregon and is only able to prescribe medications in Oregon.
How Do I Schedule a Video Appointment?
To book an appointment online:
- In the calendar below, pick an appointment time that works for you, then follow the instructions to book that time.
- You will receive an email confirmation to the email you enter letting you know that your appointment is now pending.
- By the end of the day or on the next business day at the latest, I will review the pending appointment and will let you know if the time works.
- I will also send you a link to pay for the appointment at that time. Please note that payments for online appointments are non-refundable.
- Once you pay for the appointment, the appointment is confirmed.
- Pending appointments must be paid within three days of invoicing to avoid losing the selected time. For last minute appointments, booked three days or less before the appointment time, payment must be made by 6 PM on the day of booking to avoid avoid losing the selected time.
How Do You Run the Video Appointments
House Call Pet Service uses Zoom and Facetime for video appointments.
What to do before and during the video appointment?
Be sure to prepare a well lit area to view your pet. I will need to see your pet. Please have a pet in a room with nothing to hide under, like sitting on a couch or on the bed, floor is fine too. May also need to see them walk.
If there’s something that you’ll need to show me, like a wound or an eye, get a good photo or a video of it that you can share with me. You can even email it to me prior to our appointment.
You can have treats ready to help your pet interact with you, while we talk. Sometimes it can be helpful to have a towel, to help hold them, if needed.
Pets that are scared of other voices may do better with the owner wearing headphones, instead of being on speaker phone where they hear my voice during the appointment. That way, it is like you and your pet are in the room together and the vet is incognito.
What about follow up?
I usually schedule a follow up visit at the current appointment if we need to recheck something, or if needing a booster of vaccines, in a month or so.
What if I Need to Cancel or Reschedule the Telemedicine Appointment
Once the video appointment is confirmed, there are no cancellations and the appointment fee is non-refundable.
You can reschedule the appointment, if you do so by noon on the business day prior to your appointment day. For example, a Monday appointment needs to be rescheduled by Friday at noon (assuming that Friday is not a holiday).
To reschedule, please email me or fill out the contact form here.
Thank You!
Thank you for keeping me safe as I care for your pet.
I appreciate your business and your choice to support local businesses like mine. You can continue to support House Call Pet Service by purchasing pet food and medication through my online pharmacy (link opens in a new tab/window).
I hope that you and your pet remain healthy through this time.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer Barrington