Asking vet for a prescription

lowis · 10 February 2009 at 1:50PM

i don't mind my vet charging me a bit more for meds, if my cats need the medicines there and then I will just pay up (they are insured anyway) saves the hassle of buying online and waiting...to be honest, a few times he has written out a script FOC and told me to take it to a local pharmacist as it would cost me less! (this was before the charging for scripts was reinstated)

if however my cat ever needs costly ongoing meedicines, and my vet's charges were double that of the prices on the internet i would be forced to use the cheaper supplier. a recent example was when i purchased 100 zyklene tablets for £27 from vet UK, but from my vet it was £33 for something like 30 tablets!

hethmar · 10 February 2009 at 4:49PM

snowman2 wrote: »

You can't complete the full insurance form, at least half of it needs to be completed by the vet. Even if you fill that section in, we need to check it before we put our signature to it which takes the same amount of time. There is a new internet based insurance filing system coming on-line soon which should speed up claims and reduce the cost.

Appreciate that Simon, but in our vets, one of the receptionists would simply need to tap in the computer a dogs name and address and that would be the record check done in seconds.

hotcookie101 · 10 February 2009 at 7:34PM

hethmar wrote: »

Appreciate that Simon, but in our vets, one of the receptionists would simply need to tap in the computer a dogs name and address and that would be the record check done in seconds.

But the thing is-with an insurance claim form, the vet has to check that the details for the claim are correct (and should be filling in the part that says "vet to complete this part") and that it all adds up correctly because the client could have filled things in incorrectly (start date of problem a common one I find)
If a vet/nurse/manager/whoever signs the form does not check each detail and there is a problem-there can be serious consequences of incorrect certification. I am not saying anyone on here would do that but I have come across (a thankfully low number) clients who put completely incorrect start dates of conditions, on purpose, because they only just took out insurance etc.... But many people make small mistakes if they fill out that part of the form. If I signed that without properly checking and adjusting the form-I could be done for insurance fraud and potentially struck off.... Its not just a case of a quick check by reception....
sorry... We don't charge £15 but we do charge about £3 for the forms, which is about the same as a written script. It does take time, and its a LOT cheaper than a private script from a doctor..

hethmar · 11 February 2009 at 12:36AM

Well, Ive seen the girl, just look at the puter and check it against the details on the form Ive completed and then bunged it into an out tray. £15 easily made.

Tribulation · 11 February 2009 at 12:41AM

hethmar wrote: »

Well, Ive seen the girl, just look at the puter and check it against the details on the form Ive completed and then bunged it into an out tray. £15 easily made.

And what happened to it after it was put in the out tray. Was it passed to the vet for them to sign? Was it put in an envelope for someone to post? All these things add up (although I do think £15 is too much)

snowman2_2 · 11 February 2009 at 11:25PM

Not that I am saying Hethmar, you have done anything wrong but a vet should check the form after it has gone into the in-tray. If a vet signs an insurance form which is inaccurate, that is false certification and could lead to the vet being struck off or legal action being taken. I am not going to take the chance so I will read and review any insurance forms before I sign them. The reception staff are probably just doing the first basic step in checking the form - it takes about 10 minutes to fill in a form properly. There is a new internet based system which should reduce the time by half.

littleredpony · 23 January 2011 at 11:28AM

I am just about to go and see my vets to talk about getting myself a prescription for Trocoxil. Frankly, I am dreading it. I have been with this vet surgery for 1 year now and have been going regularly recently due to my dog getting arthritis, I don't know what the bill has been because I have not totted it up, but from now on each lot of pills (taken monthly) is going to cost £25.50 at the vets or £15 online. I would certainly rather pay the latter of course and this is going to be ongoing now for the life of the dog. I am going to try to give the vet a chance to lower the price for me (not hopeful at all) then I will probably go for a prescription for online. Their attitude and fee will determine whether I stay with them or find another vet. I am not very happy with them anyway because I am not sure what their problem is but they have this strange tendency to look at you as if you are nothing, if you attempt to strike up a conversation with the receptionist you are met with a very embarrasing silence

and a look usually reserved for finding you have trod in something horrid. This happens more with the staff than the actual vets themselves, but I know one day I am going to flip cause I always do. I will update after this visit.

Tropez · 23 January 2011 at 12:02PM

littleredpony wrote: »

I am just about to go and see my vets to talk about getting myself a prescription for Trocoxil. Frankly, I am dreading it. I have been with this vet surgery for 1 year now and have been going regularly recently due to my dog getting arthritis, I don't know what the bill has been because I have not totted it up, but from now on each lot of pills (taken monthly) is going to cost £25.50 at the vets or £15 online. I would certainly rather pay the latter of course and this is going to be ongoing now for the life of the dog. I am going to try to give the vet a chance to lower the price for me (not hopeful at all) then I will probably go for a prescription for online. Their attitude and fee will determine whether I stay with them or find another vet. I am not very happy with them anyway because I am not sure what their problem is but they have this strange tendency to look at you as if you are nothing, if you attempt to strike up a conversation with the receptionist you are met with a very embarrasing silence and a look usually reserved for finding you have trod in something horrid. This happens more with the staff than the actual vets themselves, but I know one day I am going to flip cause I always do. I will update after this visit.

The chances are that your vet will charge you circa £10 for the prescription anyway, thus making the saving on the cost of the meds online negligible, particularly if you have to pay P&P charges on top of the £25.50. It is standard practice for vets to charge for prescriptions.

chris_n_tj · 23 January 2011 at 2:26PM

If you are not happy with the cost or the service you receive from your Vet then let your feet walk away and find a better one. There are plenty of great Vets out there, word of mouth is the best form of recomendation, a Vet whos customers walked away would soon realise the problem.

I am quite happy to pay a mark up.

I know I can call on our Vet anytime, he is caring, as are his staff. He has overheads and a family to support so why shouldnt he charge for his time, be it writing a prescription so you can buy elsewhere, (our Vet will often tell us if we can buy cheaper) or spending hours with someone whos beloved pet is nearly ready for the bridge. ( Our Vet went to my BIL`s to do this and was there hours not wanting to rush matters and a minimal cost)

Of course there are some rip off merchants out there but the good sure must outweigh the bad.

All I can say is three cheers for all the good Vets and their staff. I for one is happy with ours. Thanks Steve you are one in a million I wish we could share you about. xxxx

leelah · 24 January 2011 at 1:27PM

Just had to comment on the vets treating strays and lost animals for free, they do, in fact, go back to the RSPCA and take money from the charity for these services. RSPCA have to negotiate with the vets to keep the price down as much as possible as 'some vets are quite greedy' (quoted).

RSPCA will verify this.

Asking vet for a prescription

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