Effective Date: October 15, 2026 Version: 1.0 Applies to: All Veterinarians who prescribe through the Platform, and all pharmacy partners that dispense Prescriptions written through the Platform.
Article 1: Introduction and Scope
1.1 This Policy governs the duration of a Prescription written through the Platform and the authorization of refills. Duration and refill limits are legal limits set by the law of the state in which the Patient is located, as recorded in the State Telemedicine Matrix. The limits exist to require the recheck: the clinical encounter that justifies continued therapy. A short course that is refilled repeatedly without a recheck becomes a long course of unsupervised therapy, and this Policy is structured to prevent that result.
1.2 Licensure, the VCPR, and prescribing are governed by the law of the state in which the Patient is located. This Policy does not authorize any practice that the law of that state forbids, and where this Policy and that law differ on a clinical matter, the stricter rule prevails.
1.3 No provision of this Policy promises a clinical outcome. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with the Terms of Use, this Policy controls for the subject it governs. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with the terms of a program in which the Veterinarian participates, the program terms control for that program.
Article 2: Definitions
2.1 Account: the account a person or business establishes with the Company to use the Platform.
2.2 Client: the person who holds authority over the Patient.
2.3 Company: All About Pawz, LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company.
2.4 Consultation: a veterinary telemedicine encounter between a Veterinarian and a Client conducted through the Platform.
2.5 Days Supply: the number of days of therapy a Prescription provides, as recorded on the Prescription record.
2.6 Patient: the animal that is the subject of a Consultation or a Prescription.
2.7 Platform: the websites, applications, and services the Company operates under the name All About Pawz, including aapawz.com.
2.8 Prescription: an order by a Veterinarian for a medication for a Patient, recorded and transmitted through the Platform.
2.9 VCPR: a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, as defined by the law of the state in which the Patient is located.
2.10 Veterinarian: a veterinarian licensed in the state in which the Patient is located whom the Company has accepted to provide veterinary services through the Platform.
Article 3: Duration Limits
3.1 The Days Supply of a Prescription shall not exceed the limit for its category recorded for the Patient's state in the State Telemedicine Matrix, read at the time of prescribing. The categories are (a) Non-antimicrobial products: chronic medications, anti-inflammatory medications, behavioral medications, and other prescription products that are not antimicrobials or flea and tick preventives;
(b) Antimicrobials: antibiotics and antifungals. Limits in this category reflect antimicrobial stewardship: the products that drive resistance carry the shortest limits; and
(c) Flea and tick preventives: prescription preventives, the category in which longer courses are most often clinically defensible because the therapy is preventive and the monitoring burden is low.
3.2 A limit is a ceiling for a single Prescription, not a direction. The Veterinarian's clinical judgment operates below the ceiling: a shorter course is always permitted, and a longer course is never permitted. A state limit does not obligate the Veterinarian to prescribe the maximum, and prescribing the maximum by default rather than the course the Patient requires is a violation of this Policy.
3.3 The prescribing process checks the category, reads the limit for the Patient's state, and refuses a Prescription whose Days Supply exceeds the limit. The Veterinarian shall not override the limit in the encounter. A Veterinarian who considers a recorded limit incorrect shall write a shorter course and seek a correction to the matrix entry under the State Telemedicine Matrix.
3.4 A missing limit is a prohibition. Where the matrix records no limit for a category for the Patient's state, prescribing in that category through the Platform is not permitted, and the prescribing process refuses the Prescription. Missing data blocks; missing data never permits.
3.5 A state-specific note recorded with a limit in the matrix: a restriction on refills for a category, or a shorter limit for a stated product class: is enforced as written once the entry for that state has been legally reviewed. An entry that has not been legally reviewed is not enforced as law and does not permit prescribing.
Article 4: Refills
4.1 Refills allowed default to zero. A refill beyond the allowance the matrix records for the Patient's state requires a new Consultation and a new Prescription record. Refills do not accumulate without an encounter: each refill is a clinical decision attached to an encounter.
4.2 No refill shall be authorized automatically. An automatic refill program operated by the Company or by a pharmacy partner shall not extend therapy beyond what the applicable limit, the refill allowance, and the VCPR support. A refill that fires on a prior refill allowance recorded on the Prescription is permitted only within that allowance; a refill that extends therapy beyond the allowance is a prescribing violation, and automation does not change the character of the violation. The refill process applies the same limits as the prescribing process.
4.3 A Client request for a refill is a clinical event, not an administrative one. Before authorizing a refill, the Veterinarian shall review: whether the VCPR is current; whether a recheck is due; and whether the Patient's condition has changed. A refill authorized without that review is a Prescription without an encounter behind it. For stable chronic therapy within a current VCPR, the review may be brief; the review shall occur, and it shall be documented in the clinical record under the Clinical Documentation Policy.
4.4 Illustrative application. A dog receives long-term thyroid supplementation. The VCPR is current, founded on an in-person examination six months earlier, and the limit for non-antimicrobials in the Patient's state is 180 days. The Veterinarian writes 90 days with one refill: within the limit, with a recheck planned at the refill point. Six months later the Client requests a further refill; the VCPR, founded on an examination now 12 months old, has expired. No refill issues. The Client requires a recheck encounter first. The medication is not cut off by the refill rule; the VCPR expired, and the refill rule performed its function.
Article 5: Expiry
5.1 A Prescription expires at the end of its Days Supply as written, at the exhaustion of its authorized refills, or on the expiry of the underlying VCPR, whichever occurs first.
5.2 An expired Prescription shall not be dispensed, refilled, or reactivated. Where therapy remains indicated after expiry, the Veterinarian shall write a new Prescription, with a current check of the VCPR and of each condition in the Prescription Authority and VCPR Requirement. Transmission and expiry mechanics are governed by the Prescription Transmission and Fulfillment.
Article 6: Interaction With the Other Prescribing Conditions
6.1 Compliance with a duration limit is necessary but is not sufficient. A Prescription within the limit still requires: a valid VCPR under the Prescription Authority and VCPR Requirement; the correct VCPR type; a prescriber licensed in the Patient's state; non-controlled status, or satisfaction of the Controlled Substances Policy; and the extralabel and compounding predicates, where applicable, under the Extralabel Use and Compounding Policy. The conditions are conjunctive: each one shall be satisfied. A Prescription that satisfies the duration limit and rests on an expired VCPR is refused.
Article 7: Liability
7.1 Prescribing responsibility. The Veterinarian bears responsibility for each prescribing and refill decision, including the decision that the duration and refill terms of a Prescription comply with this Policy. The Company does not practice veterinary medicine and does not direct the Veterinarian's clinical judgment. Nothing in this Article limits liability for personal injury or injury to an animal caused by negligence, where applicable law does not permit the limitation. No provision of this Policy is a promise of a clinical outcome.
7.2 Exclusion of certain damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party is liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, or loss of goodwill, arising out of or relating to this Policy, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of those damages.
7.3 Cap. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company's total liability arising out of or relating to this Policy shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts the Veterinarian paid to the Company under this Policy in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).
7.4 Carve-outs. This Article does not limit (a) a party's indemnification obligations under this Policy; (b) liability for fraud or willful misconduct; (c) amounts the Veterinarian owes for fees, refunds, or other amounts under the Company's documents; or (d) liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
7.5 Essential purpose. The parties agree that this Article allocates risk between them, that it is an essential part of the basis of their bargain, and that it applies even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Article 8: Indemnification
8.1 Duty. The Veterinarian shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against every claim, demand, action, loss, liability, judgment, settlement, cost, and expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) the Veterinarian's breach of this Policy; (b) the Veterinarian's Services, Prescriptions, or content; (c) the Veterinarian's violation of any law or of the rights of any person; and (d) taxes for which the Veterinarian is responsible under the Company's documents.
8.2 Procedure. The Company shall give prompt written notice of a claim under this Article. The Veterinarian shall control the defense with counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company. The Company may participate in the defense at its own expense. The Veterinarian shall not settle a claim in a manner that imposes any obligation or restriction on the Company, or that does not release the Company fully, without the Company's prior written consent.
8.3 Survival. This Article survives the termination of this Policy.
Article 9: Enforcement and Appeals
9.1 Investigation. The Company may investigate any suspected violation of this Policy. The Veterinarian shall cooperate with an investigation and shall produce the records this Policy requires the Veterinarian to keep.
9.2 Notice. If the Company determines that the Veterinarian has violated this Policy, the Company shall give written notice stating the provision violated and the facts relied on, except where notice would compromise an investigation of fraud, a safety risk, or a legal obligation. The Company may suspend the Veterinarian's prescribing and participation immediately where a license has lapsed or a safety risk arises.
9.3 Opportunity to cure. Where a violation is capable of cure, the Veterinarian has ten (10) business days from notice to cure it and to confirm the cure in writing. No cure period applies to fraud, a risk to the safety of a person or an animal, unlawful conduct, or a violation that by its nature cannot be cured.
9.4 Measures. If a violation is established and is not cured within the period allowed, the Company may, proportionate to the violation: (a) issue a written warning; (b) suspend prescribing authority through the Platform; (c) suspend the Account or program participation, in whole or in part; (d) terminate this Policy and the Account; and (e) exercise any other right or remedy available under the Company's documents or at law.
9.5 Appeal. The Veterinarian may appeal a measure under this Article by written notice to legal@aapawz.com within thirty (30) days of the measure, stating the grounds and attaching the records relied on. The appeal is decided by a person who did not make the original decision. The Company's decision on appeal is final. A measure remains in effect during an appeal unless the Company directs otherwise in writing.
9.6 No waiver by delay. The Company's delay in acting on a violation is not a waiver of the violation or of any later violation of the same kind.
Article 10: Term and Termination
10.1 Term. This Policy takes effect when the Veterinarian is accepted to provide veterinary services through the Platform and continues until terminated under this Article.
10.2 Termination by the Company. The Company may terminate this Policy and the Account on thirty (30) days' written notice for any reason, and immediately on written notice if the Veterinarian materially breaches this Policy, engages in fraud, or becomes ineligible to participate.
10.3 Termination by the Veterinarian. The Veterinarian may terminate this Policy on thirty (30) days' written notice to support@aapawz.com, provided the Veterinarian has no booking or investigation outstanding.
10.4 Effect of termination. On termination: (a) the rights granted under this Policy end; (b) obligations that arose before termination: including payment, refund, record-keeping, and indemnification obligations: survive until satisfied; and (c) the Company shall disburse amounts owed, less amounts the Company may set off under the Company's documents, within thirty (30) days, except amounts held in connection with an open investigation or dispute.
10.5 Survival. The Definitions, Liability, Indemnification, Enforcement and Appeals (for measures taken before termination), Dispute Resolution, and General Provisions Articles survive termination.
Article 11: Dispute Resolution
11.1 Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Policy, or to the relationship it governs, is governed by the Dispute Resolution Policy, which is incorporated into this Policy by reference.
Article 12: General Provisions
12.1 Amendments. The Company may amend this Policy by posting the amended Policy in the Document Center and giving notice to the Veterinarian at the email address in the Account. An amendment that materially increases the Veterinarian's fees or obligations takes effect thirty (30) days after notice; other amendments take effect on posting. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of an amendment is acceptance of it. If the Veterinarian does not accept an amendment, the Veterinarian's remedy is to terminate under Article 10 before the amendment takes effect.
12.2 Notices. Legal notices under this Policy shall be sent to legal@aapawz.com. Operational notices and all other communications shall be sent to support@aapawz.com. A notice to the Company is effective when the Company acknowledges receipt or, for email, one business day after sending, whichever is earlier. Notices to the Veterinarian are effective when sent to the email address in the Account or posted to the Account's notice facility in the portal, whichever occurs first. The Veterinarian shall keep the email address in the Account current.
12.3 Governing law. This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution Policy, any proceeding arising out of this Policy shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there. The practice of veterinary medicine under this Policy is governed by the law of the state in which the patient is located.
12.4 Severability. If any provision of this Policy is held unenforceable, the provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions continue in full effect.
12.5 Entire agreement. This Policy, together with the documents it incorporates by reference, is the entire agreement between the Company and the Veterinarian for the subject it governs and supersedes every prior or contemporaneous statement, communication, or agreement on that subject, whether written or oral.
12.6 Assignment. The Veterinarian shall not assign this Policy or any right or obligation under it without the Company's prior written consent, and an assignment without consent is void. The Company may assign this Policy to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of all or part of its business, on notice to the Veterinarian.
12.7 Waiver. A waiver of any provision of this Policy is effective only in writing and only for the instance stated. No waiver is a waiver of any other provision or instance.
12.8 Interpretation. Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." This Policy shall not be construed against a party as its drafter. The English-language text controls over any translation.
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