We look forward to working with you and your pet.

Scheduling an Appointment

The relationship with your pet’s general care veterinarian is critical to the short-term and long-term care for your pet, and for this reason, patients are seen at Northlake Veterinary Surgery by referral only.

After your veterinarian has contacted us and made a referral for you and your pet, please contact us at 404-292-3281 to schedule an appointment. Our referral coordinators are available 8:00am-5:00pm on Monday and 8:00am-5:00pm on Tuesday-Friday to schedule an appointment for you.

When you schedule your appointment, you will be instructed to fill-out and submit a client contact and patient information form:

Preparing for your visit:

Please bring copies of all prior laboratory work and radiographs to your appointment. A concise history of your pet’s previous treatments and responses which are pertinent to the current issues may also be provided by your general veterinarian. If you think that your pet may stay for a procedure please bring any special diet and medications with you.

What to expect the day of your appointment:

All clients must have an office visit with one of our surgeons before any procedures are scheduled or performed. Appropriate recommendations for diagnostics and procedures can only be given after a thorough evaluation of the patient and the patient’s history. The office visit is an essential part of the patient evaluation. You should anticipate spending between 60 and 90 minutes at our hospital the day of your first visit.

Admission to our hospital:

Your pet may be admitted following your office visit for any recommended diagnostic or surgical procedures. Many diagnostic and some minor surgical procedures are performed on the same day as the initial appointment on an outpatient basis.

Discharge time for outpatient procedures are typically between 3 and 5pm. Patients requiring major surgical procedures can be admitted for surgery for the following day or scheduled for drop off on a designated surgery day in the near future. However, certain procedures require an overnight stay and some patients require extended hospitalization for treatment. Therefore, please prepare to be flexible the day of and days following your office visit.

Estimates:

An estimate of anticipated cost can be provided to you before your office visit. This estimate is based on the referral from your general veterinarian and our previous experience with patients that have presented with similar needs to that of your pet. The needs of individual patients, however, do vary. Therefore, a more specific estimate will be provided to you during your office visit.

Payment Policy:

A deposit of 50% of the estimated cost of intended procedures is required for all patients who are admitted to our hospital. Payment is due in full at the time your pet is discharged from the hospital. Balances will be due on a weekly basis for patients requiring extended hospitalization. In order to minimize costs, we do not bill or carry open balances on patients.

Payments Accepted:

MasterCard, Visa, American Express, personal checks, and cash are all accepted. If extended credit is required we accept several CareCredit plans. You may visit www.carecredit.com for pre-approval prior to your appointment to apply for a CareCredit account.

Client consultations prior to referral and office visit:

We do not offer phone consultations to individuals whose pets have not been seen at our office. Prospective clients should be advised that until we have had an opportunity to examine their pet and review all previous diagnostics, we cannot give them any advice over the phone.

Pet Insurance Policy:

We provide you with an estimate for the cost of your pet’s services before your pet is admitted for their procedure. A deposit is due at the time of your pet’s admission for 50% of the anticipated bill. The remaining balance must be paid at the time of your pet’s discharge. For patients requiring extended hospitalization, the balance is due weekly to cover the costs of services provided.

For patients with pet insurance, it is the pet owner’s responsibility to pay Northlake Veterinary Surgery the initial deposit, weekly hospitalization charges, and the total balance due in the same manner as patients without pet insurance. Insurance reimbursement will be made directly to the client from the insurance company. Northlake Veterinary Surgery does not accept payment from the insurance company.

Pet insurance reimbursement can vary greatly depending on the terms of the specific policy. Contact your insurance company for reimbursement details specific to your pet’s policy.   At Northlake Veterinary Surgery, we will make every effort to help you submit required documents and records to your insurance provider to facilitate your reimbursement.