Refill request
Updated
This article is for veterinary clinic teams. If you're worried about a pet right now, call your vet or nearest emergency clinic.
A refill request is a client asking the clinic for more of a pet's existing prescription. At the front desk, it is an intake job: confirm who is calling, take complete details, and pass a task to the veterinary team, who make the decision.
Refill requests are among the most common reasons people call a clinic. Each one is small, but an incomplete request costs the team another phone call, and a request that sits in someone's notebook can leave a client waiting without knowing why.
What the front desk collects
A complete refill request usually includes the client's name and a check that they are the pet's owner on file, the pet's name, the item as the client describes it, whether they want to collect it at the clinic or have it sent to a pharmacy, how much they have left, and the best number to reach them.
The front desk writes down the item in the client's own words. It does not suggest a product, confirm an amount or say whether the request will be approved. Those decisions belong to the veterinarians, who may also ask to see the pet first.
Setting expectations
Clients worry less when they know what happens next. A short close works well: who will look at the request, roughly when, and how the client will hear back. The clinic sets that turnaround. If the client sounds worried about the pet itself, the call stops being a refill request, and the front desk follows the clinic's urgent-call policy instead.
An example
A client phones on a Friday afternoon asking for more of her cat's usual tablets. The receptionist checks her details, notes the pet's name, the item as she described it, that she has a few left and that she'll pick up at the clinic. The task goes to the duty vet's list, and the receptionist tells her the team will call or text once it's ready, or if an exam is needed first.
How Tilly handles it
Tilly confirms the client's identity before taking a request about their pet. It collects the pet, the medication as the client describes it, pickup or pharmacy, and how much is left, then creates a task in your task inbox and notes it in the PIMS record. Tilly doesn't approve refills, suggest doses or name medicines. Your vet decides, and Tilly lets the client know.
Our front-desk phone scripts include a refill script, and the phone coverage guide shows how these calls fit into a busy day.