How to Navigate VetCostIQ
VetCostIQ has six main areas: finding care, sharing pricing data, managing your pets and prescriptions, AI tools, communication, and trust & data. The top navigation bar gives you access to all of them. On mobile, tap the menu icon to expand the navigation.
Search | Search hospitals by name, city, or zip. Filter by type, sort by distance/rating/price, compare side-by-side |
Compare | Select up to 4 hospitals and compare prices, ratings, and hidden-fee reports side-by-side |
Education | Browse vet-reviewed articles, conditions, medications, and products with citations and purchase links |
Pet Triage AI | AI-powered symptom triage, specialist matching, and hospital recommendations ($3/mo) |
Pharmacy | Find pharmacy partners, submit prescriptions, track fulfillment status |
Dashboard | Your home base — pets, invoices, prescriptions, price alerts, referral stats, profile settings |
1Top Navigation Bar
The navigation bar at the top of every page gives you quick access to Search, Compare, Education, Pet Triage AI, Pharmacy, and About. On mobile, tap the hamburger menu icon to expand it. The "Help" link in the nav takes you to the full Help Center.
2Search First
Most users start at the Home page (Search). Enter a city, zip code, or hospital name in the location bar. Filter by hospital type (emergency, specialty, exotic, etc.) and sort by distance, rating, or price. Results show real pricing data from community-submitted invoices.
3Contextual Page Guide
On desktop, a "Help" tab on the right edge of the screen opens a panel with the full guide relevant to the page you're currently viewing — including tables, workflows, and pro tips directly inline. No need to navigate away.
4Your Dashboard
The Dashboard (link in the account dropdown) is your home base. It shows your pets with cost/vaccination/prescription widgets, submitted invoices, contributed prices, saved AI chats, profile editor, accessibility settings, and cookie preferences — all in one place.
5Account Dropdown
Click your avatar/name in the top-right corner to access: My Pets, Share a Price, Invoice Manager, Messages, Price Alerts, Referral Rewards, Dashboard, and Logout. Hospital and pharmacy admins see additional links to their respective dashboards.
Pro Tips
- •Use the location search to find hospitals near you — enter a city, zip code, or click "Use My Location" for GPS detection.
- •The "Demographics" button on the search page shows live platform stats: total hospitals, enriched profiles, pharmacy partners, and cities covered.
- •Bookmark hospital profiles you visit often — your browser history works too.
- •The Page Guide sidebar on the right edge shows the full help article for whatever page you're on — no clicking through menus needed.