Ordering & Information

Ordering Medications That Require a Prescription

Key Points:

1. We are required to receive your pet's original paper prescription by post before dispensing the medication (unless urgently required - see 2. below)

2. If required urgently we may use an electronic copy which needs to be emailed to us directly from your vet. Please ask them to let us know in the email that we're allowed to dispense on the scanned copy.

3. If we are dispensing using an electronic copy (see 2. above) we are required to receive the original paper prescription within 7 days. Failure to do so will result in repeats not being dispensed.

4. Please note we sell most products in full packs, as presented on our website. It's advisable to make your vet aware of this before they issue the prescription. If you have any differing requirements please contact us before ordering and we will try and accomodate you.

5. Prescriptions may not be amended by anyone other than your veterinarian. This will usually require the prescription to be re-issued.

6. Medication amounts/repeats must be dispensed as they appear on the prescription so please discuss your requirements with your vet at the time the prescription is issued.

More Detail:

Veterinary medications (RVMs or Restricted Veterinary Medicines) require a prescription (also called an authorisation) from your veterinarian in order for you to buy them from our pharmacy. These RVMs are set out by condition or in alphabetical order in our 'Prescription medication' section. At Willowbark Veterinary Pharmacy, we offer a cost effective alternative supply of RVMs that you might otherwise buy from your veterinary clinic.

Getting a prescription is simple - just request one from your veterinarian for whichever medication(s) your pet needs. This can either be at the time of consultation or when you are running short of your current batch of medications (in the case of long term medications). Your vet is entitled to charge a small fee for issuing a prescription but must issue one upon request on occasions where they would otherwise dispense the medication themselves. This prescription will tell us the name, strength, dosage instructions and amount of the medication(s) that we are to dispense at one time as well as the number of repeats you are allowed to order in the future. To make ordering medicatons more cost effective for you, we recommend that you request as many repeats as possible from your veterinarian on one prescription.

Once you have your pets prescription, you can either:

1. Order the quantity of medication(s) from our website, according to the prescription you have,
2. Contact us if you want to double check before you order,
3. Send us the original prescription first and email us to let us know to contact you once we receive it to put your order together

We can only dispatch your RVMs after we have received your original hard copy of the prescription/authorisation (containing all the relevant information) and payment. In rare cases where medications are required urgently, we may fill a prescription without the original but you would need to contact us for information on how to arrange this. If this is arranged, the original MUST be sent to us within 7 days and we would not be able to fill any further repeat orders using that prescription until we have received it.

We must provide you with the exact same medication(s) as prescribed by your veterinarian with instructions as per the prescription. 

Please post your prescription to:

During February 2020 please contact us before posting original prescriptions to our PO box - we will provide an alternate address. Electronic copies can still be sent to admin@willowbark.co.nz

Willowbark Veterinary Pharmacy

Willowbark Veterinary Pharmacy

PO Box 20098

Summerhill

Palmerston North 4448

Please note:

Unfortunately, upon dispatch, we cannot issue refunds or accept returns on orders of RVMs (unless there is an error on our behalf) due to the regulations governing the sale and storage of such medications. You are welcome to return any medications you no longer need for disposal in our clinical waste bins but please be aware that these cannot be re-sold.

Both RVM classification and regulations governing the sale of RVMs can change at any time. We will endeavour to keep our website as current as possible but please be aware that changes may happen at short notice, although none are anticipated in the near future.

Human prescription medicines (in some situations animals may be treated with human medications) can't be sold through our pharmacy at this time.

Here is a sample prescription form that your prescription should resemble.