Complaint Submission

As the only accrediting entity in veterinary medicine in North America, choosing an AAHA-accredited practice should provide a level of comfort to pet owners. Accreditation affords a well respected measure of differentiation from practices that have not undergone a thorough evaluation by an unbiased, outside organization.

AAHA Accreditation means that the practice was evaluated by trained AAHA consultants and found to meet the standards required for Accreditation. To maintain Accreditation, members must successfully go through regular evaluations, typically every three years. In the interval between on-site evaluations, AAHA consultants periodically contact members on an informal basis and in-house staff is available to answer questions, but it is the responsibility of the veterinary practice to uphold the standards between on-site evaluations. Due to the complexities and variables of medical case management, there is no guarantee of the outcome for medical cases.

Cases that are not accepted for review:

• Complaints against nonaccredited members or nonmembers
• Complaints about fees. Fees are based on a number of variables (including geographic location) and may change after an animal has been admitted for surgery, treatment and/or hospitalization.
• Complaints against the medical course of action. It is up to the veterinarian in charge of the case to determine the best medical course of action for the patient based on numerous variables.

Criteria for submitting a complaint:

• All complaints must be submitted on AAHA’s complaint form
• The complaint must include the name of the hospital, address, city, state and medical director(s) (if known)
• Once the AAHA-accredited hospital has been pulled up in Step 1 (see below) and the information has been completed, the complaint will be submitted electronically.
• Complaints that do not follow the above criteria will be returned without action.
• Please note that a copy of the complaint form will be forwarded to the medical director(s) of the accredited practice.

Findings of investigative agencies regarding complaints against accredited members may be forwarded to the appropriate Leadership Committee for review; the Association reserves the right to take disciplinary action against its accredited members based on the findings of other investigative agencies.