Help Center
Concise guides for every feature in VetCostIQ
Getting Started
How to Navigate VetCostIQ
The platform is organized into clear sections — everything you need is one click away.
Your Account & Profile
Manage your profile, primary hospital, accessibility settings, and cookie preferences.
Accessibility & ADA Settings
VetCostIQ supports font scaling, high-contrast mode, and reduced motion for users with accessibility needs.
Cookie Consent & Privacy Choices
How cookie consent works and how to change your preferences at any time.
Education Library
Browse vet-reviewed articles, conditions, medications, and products — each with authoritative citations and purchase links.
Finding Veterinary Care
Search & Compare Hospitals
Find veterinary hospitals near you and compare real, invoice-verified prices. This is the primary feature of VetCostIQ.
Understanding Hospital Profiles
Everything on a hospital profile — services, pricing, reviews, staff, accreditations, and license status.
Compare Prices Side-by-Side
Side-by-side hospital comparison is coming soon. Here's what's planned and how to compare in the meantime.
Reviews & Hidden Fees
How reviews work, why hidden-fee reporting matters, and how to write a helpful review.
Hospital Types & Specialties
Understanding the different types of veterinary hospitals and what they treat.
Accreditation Badges Explained
What AAHA, Fear Free, Cat Friendly, and VECCS badges mean and how to verify them.
License Verification
How we verify hospital licenses from state veterinary board rosters.
Adding a Missing Hospital
If your vet isn't in the database, you can add it — we'll look it up via Google Places.
Sharing Pricing Data
Share a Price (Upload Invoice)
Upload your vet invoice to help other pet owners see real prices. Your invoice image is deleted immediately after processing.
Managing Your Invoices
View, manage, and contribute your uploaded invoices from one central place.
Price Alerts
Get notified when prices change at hospitals you care about.
Pricing Confidence Tiers
Understanding the four confidence tiers and what each price source means.
Transparent Pricing (Hospital Profiles)
How verified prices are grouped on hospital profiles and how partners can customize the layout.
Financial Resources
Pets & Prescriptions
Managing Your Pets
Create and manage profiles for each of your pets — species, breed, weight, and medical history.
Vet Visit Tracking
Log vet visits, track costs, and build a complete medical history for each pet.
Vaccination Tracker
Track each pet's vaccinations with dates and due dates.
Submit a Prescription
Send your pet's prescription to pharmacy partners for price quoting and fulfillment.
Finding a Pharmacy
Search for pharmacy partners by type, location, and specialty.
Prescription Status Workflow
Understanding the prescription request lifecycle from submission to fulfillment.
AI Tools
Pet Triage AI
AI-powered symptom triage, specialist matching, and hospital recommendations. Premium feature ($3/mo with 7-day free trial).
AI Chat Modes: Triage vs. General
When to use Structured Triage vs. General Chat mode.
Vet Matcher Agent
How the AI matches your pet's needs to nearby hospitals and specialists.
Communication
For Partners
Hospital Dashboard Overview
Manage your hospital listing, services, pricing, staff, marketing, and reviews — all from one tabbed dashboard.
Claiming Your Hospital Listing
Verify your association with a hospital and take control of its profile.
Services Manager (Hospital)
Add, edit, and categorize your hospital's service catalog.
Pricing Manager (Hospital)
Publish your hospital's prices for common procedures.
Staff Manager (Hospital)
Add veterinarians and specialists with their credentials to your hospital profile.
AI Assist (Hospital)
Automatically populate your profile, services, pricing, and staff using AI. Premium/Sponsored only.
Marketing Tools (Hospital)
Featured Procedures, Promotions, and Coupon Codes to attract new clients.
Accreditations Manager (Hospital)
Display and verify your hospital's professional accreditations and certifications.
Responding to Reviews (Hospital)
Reply to community reviews publicly from the Hospital Dashboard.
Pharmacy Dashboard Overview
Manage your pharmacy profile, prescription requests, pricing, and customer communications.
Rx Request Management (Pharmacy)
View, filter, quote, and fulfill incoming prescription requests.
Claiming Your Pharmacy Listing
Verify your association with a pharmacy and take control of its profile.
Subscription Plans & Billing
Premium and Sponsored listing tiers for hospitals and pharmacies, plus Pet Triage AI for pet owners.
For Admins
Admin Panel Overview
The admin panel is the control center for platform data, moderation, and infrastructure.
Moderation Queue (Admin)
Review and moderate user-submitted content: reports, reviews, invoices, and price submissions.
Content Library (Admin)
Manage educational content: articles, conditions, medications, products, and the service catalog.
Data Management (Admin)
Browse and manage hospitals, pharmacies, users, and purge duplicates.
System & Infrastructure (Admin)
Manage state benchmarks, Google Places population, license registry, and price extraction.
Trust & Data
How We Source Pricing
Where our pricing data comes from and how we verify it. Full transparency on methodology.
Your Privacy & Data
How we handle your data, invoice images, pet medical history, and cookie preferences.
Reporting Inappropriate Content
How to report reviews, hospital info, or other content that violates community guidelines.