PURPOSE
The following policy is
provided to help answer questions regarding the dispensing of a heartworm
preventive for your pet.
LEGAL
REQUIREMENTS
All heartworm preventives
are labeled prescription drugs, requiring veterinarians to follow federal
and state regulations for prescribing and dispensing them. These regulations
require a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship, which necessitates
a patient record and a recent physical examination.
MEDICAL
GUIDELINES
Heartworm blood tests are
performed in all dogs over four months of age. The test results are useful
in minimizing the risk of adverse reactions and in assessing the patient's
infection status. If heartworm embryos (microfilariae) are present in the
blood, daily heartworm preventives can cause a potentially life-threatening
reaction. Heartworm preventives are very effective. However, each year
we detect infection in dogs that have been receiving preventive therapy.
These infections are usually due to known or suspected noncompliance in
administering the preventive, the incomplete consumption of the preventive,
and not using heartworm preventives year round.
GOAL
At McClung's Animal Hospital,
our primary concern is to dispense heartworm prevention medication in a
mannerthat ensures your pet's safety and protection while complying with
state and federal laws. To achieve that goal, we have adopted the following
guidelines for pets receiving heartworm preventatives:
1. A current patient
record must be on file.
2. The pet must be examined
at least every year.
3. If a visiting client
elects not to have his or her pet examined, we require oral authorization
or a written prescription from the client's attending veterinarian,or copies
of the patient's medical record.
4. A current heartworm test
is required before preventive therapy can be initiated. This test may need
to be repeated before renewing the prescription, depending on the class
of medication used and the record of administration.
5. Any deviation from these
guidelines must occur within the context of a veterinarian-client-patient
relationship. A staff veterinarian will be happy to discuss this policy
with you .
Heartworm is a potentially fatal,
mosquito born disease that affects hundreds of dogs throughout Ohio each
year. Once the animal is infected, there are no visible warning signs that
it is sick until the disease has reached advanced stages. Signs of the
disease may include shortness of breath, lethargy, frequent coughing, lack
of appetite and weight loss. As the disease progresses there may also be
swelling in the dog's extremities and accumulation of excess fluid in the
chest and other areas. A dog may be infected four to nine months before
symptoms present themselves. However, one of the biggest dangers of heartworm
is that many times the symptoms do not appear until the disease has caused
irreversible damage to vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, and
the kidneys. Damage to these organs could be so severe that the dog cannot
be saved or treatment may be long and expensive. We recommend that dogs
older than four months be tested each year. If the blood test is negative,
two kinds of preventative drugs can be prescribed -a once-a-month chewable
tablet or an injection that lasts six months. |
