Practice Policies

My policies are here to help build a foundation of mutual respect so we can have the very best communication moving forward into our shared relationship of helping your animal feel their very best.

NEW PATIENTS

We request that new clients please discuss starting chiropractic care with their veterinarian prior to starting a new client relationship with us. Candid conversations can promote better transparency across the board as we work to facilitate starting a new relationship with you and your vet.

Starting a new relationship with us looks like:

1- Owner fills out veterinary authorization form

2- Vet reviews and completes form

3- In stride receives form

4- In Stride reaches out to you to get scheduled

*You may find a link to download and print our veterinary authorization request form or you may start this form online using the get started tab on our website.*

We ask that owners take and ACTIVE role in this process. We are happy to help answer any questions you may have along the way.

SCHEDULING

Please text or call us at our business phone to make appointments. You may also use a provided scheduling widget when visiting us in a preferred location. We may not always answer emails or social media messages, so please plan accordingly. Our business hours to return calls are 9 to 5 M-F and on an emergency basis on Sat. We do not answer messages on Sun or on federal holidays.

To optimize travel routes, we only offer house or barn calls during times we are already in your area. This prevents large gaps in our schedule and allows us to be more efficient and serve more animals in need. If you need a certain time for an appointment, we will do our very best to honor your request.

Sometimes, we may need to shuffle your appointment to fit in acute patients. Your flexibility is much appreciated as the same accommodation would be made for your pet, should you ever be in need.

APPOINTMENTS

All vet referral forms and patient history must be completed prior to booking. Please fill out the patient history to the best of your ability and try to provide any photos, videos, medical notes, or any diagnostic imaging prior to your appointment.

Forms can be completed online or on our home page (printed, scanned in, and emailed.) Forms can be emailed to instridechiropractic@gmail.com, instrideva@gmail.com, or faxed to 469-453-3225.

It is requested that someone who knows the case history of the animal be present for initial and subsequent appointments. If you are unable to be present during your animal's appointment and would like to discuss care, please contact us at least 24 hours BEFORE the start of your appointment.

If you need help finding a vet that is amenable to your animal chiropractic referral needs, please contact us directly so we can help you facilitate a relationship.

Your animal will be considered a "new" patient if we haven't seen them in over a year and you may be asked to fill out new intake forms upon rebooking.

COORDINATION OF CARE

Due to the referral laws in this state, we are required to send case notes to the veterinarian we have on file. Please notify us should you change your vet office as soon as possible so that we may update your pet's health record and send our notes to the correct provider.

When possible, for barns with multiple horse clients, we request that you allow us to coordinate your animal's visit(s) with one point of contact (such as barn manager, or trainer.)

CANCELLATION & MISSED APPOINTMENT / LAST MINUTE ADD ON POLICY

Please anticipate to receive reminders about your upcoming appointment (text / email). You may unsubscribe from these reminders at any time. It is recommended you also keep a personal record of your upcoming appointment.

Should you need to cancel, please give us at least 24 hours notice (in office appointment) or 72 hours notice (house call) so we can adequately serve our growing wait list.

Should you not cancel within this window, a cancellation fee may be charged at our discretion. (~50% of services to be rendered.) Should the payment information on file not process, we reserve the right to add your cancellation fee balance to your next visit.

We store payment information securely using our payment processing application, which complies with all current data protection policies. You may request to have your payment information removed at any time.

For horse owners, we require a deposit to be paid within 3 days of your appointment. Should you cancel an appointment but not reschedule within 1 week of the cancellation, your deposit will not be refunded.

We may not always be able to accommodate last minute add on's. We need at least 72 hours notice of add on's so we can make sure to provide a quality visit for you and your animal.

Please notify our office within 24 hours should your animal be carrying a highly transmissible disease (ringworm, kennel cough, strangles, etc) so we can make changes to your appointment as needed.

WHAT TO EXPECT

If visiting an office, please arrive 5-10min before your appointment time. Please potty your pet prior to arrival. If we are coming to you, we will send a message when we are on our way.

Although we do book appointments at set times, please allow us 15-20 min grace for elements that are beyond our control. We will do our best to contact you directly should we be running behind.

A new patient consultation for small animals is ~30min and ~45min to 1hr for horses. Follow up appointments are ~15 to 20min.

We do not always have the luxury of an assistant, and as such, we may require assistance to handle your pet. We ask you please have a handler ready (for house or barn calls) if you do not feel comfortable aiding in your animal's restraint.

At our discretion, we may use restraint techniques (ex: muzzle, chain, etc) to facilitate treatment. If you are uncomfortable with this, please talk with us prior to your appointment.

Please NO BASKET MUZZLES or PRONG COLLARS on your dogs. Please NO SEDATION for your animals. Please bring your pet's favorite treat or incentive should you have a nervous animal / pet with food allergies.

For barn calls: we request enough flat level + dry ground (ideally that is shaded) to facilitate an appointment. Please have your animal caught, cleared of mud, lightly groomed, and feet picked 10min prior to our arrival. Please no show sheen, fly spray, or hoof oil.

Please allow your animal 1-2 days post adjustment to rest and recuperate for maximum treatment effectiveness.

We will send you + your vet a report of our findings within 5 days of the services rendered.

DENIAL OF SERVICES

We reserve the right to deny services should their be any concern for the animal's well being

PAYMENT

Payment is expected at time of service. We accept cards (via square), cash, check, venmo, or zelle. Should you not be able to be present for service, we request you please allow payment information to be saved on file BEFORE the time of your visit.

Should your payment bounce at time of payment, we will send an invoice with the expectation to receive payment within 3 days of the provided service. Should this invoice not get paid, we reserve the right to dismiss you as a client.

We do require a card on file when booking, but we do not charge the card when requesting an appointment; we only run your card for a 3 day deposit or when a service has been completed.

MINIMUM TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

We value your pet's care, but in order to serve as many clients as possible, we cannot afford to travel to you unless we meet a minimum number of pets.

We are now limiting our travel. Requests for new house call patients will be made on a case by case basis.

Our travel radius is roughly 1 hour of drive time.

If we are traveling 1+ hour, we require a minimum of 3 dogs or 2 horses.

If we are traveling 2+ hours, we require a minimum of 5 dogs of 3 horses.

If we are traveling 3+ hours, we require a minimum of 8 dogs or 5 horses.

We do not travel over 4 hours unless we have a list of over 10 animals with pre-payment.

PERSONAL SECURITY

Should you book a farm or house call, In Stride may, at its sole discretion, take affirmative steps to ensure the personal safety of its members, owners, employees, managers, officers, independent contractors, patients, or other affiliates while on the premises.

TERMINATION

Ending relationships can be difficult. In Stride may terminate your treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if it's determine that professional boundaries are not being upheld, the treatment is not being effectively used, or if you are in default on payment. We will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If treatment is terminated for any reason or you request another provider, we will provide you with a list of other qualified professionals to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source. Should you fail to schedule another appointment with me (within 1 years time), unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, we will consider the professional relationship discontinued.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION

Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, we reserve the right to not accept personal friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). We believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.