Vet's Prescription Fees/charges

purple_spider

After reading symkins post and reading up on the new legislation about vets fees I wondered if anyone else had any information. I read a bit about it on directgov but I couldn't find out if there was a limit to how much Vet's can now charge on a prescription?

I'm not happy that they are now charging for prescriptions - as my dog has KCS (dry eyes - a common condition) and I usually get 6 month prescriptions as he needs optimmune twice daily, and to buy it from my vets is nearly double the cost of buying the drugs online, which i am beginning to realise isn't all that uncommon.

After asking my Vet's they said a prescription would cost £5-95 for three months, which I thought was a bit high considering it is a condition he will always need medication for, but they were a little less forthcoming with information saying that they had only just found out about it so they weren't willing to discuss if they could write a longer prescription.

There seemed to be a variety of ideas on the MSE board, with some vet's still offering prescriptions for free, others as much as £12-50 for two month's.

I wanted to find out if anyone had any prices for what they were being charged for a prescription and for how long it lasted. Also whether it was a negotiable cost, for example if you were a trusted customer/used the vet for years, or it was a long term illness, or your vet's were informed that other vet's in the area were cheaper.

snowman2_2

All prices are negotiable if you ask nicely and are a valuable customer. Don't expect any discount if you are nasty about it or have only been once in 5 years. There is no maximum, minimum or set price although most are likely to be under a tenner. The ability to charge has been in less than 2 weeks so it is new. We aren't currently charging anything.

simontheiceman

I would largely agree with Snowman in that it depends upon the attitude and approach of the client in question.

I havent actually had to charge for a prescription because I havent had to write one for some considerable time. In actual fact the last one I wrote was for drugs for my own use in the surgery when I had run out and the local pharmacist could fulfil my needs.

Ask yourself a very interesting question - how would you feel if you had to work for "free"? That is in effect what was being asked by the Competition Commission for the last 3 years. If they try that stunt again the legal challenge will kick it back where it came from via a more robust response.

I have set a script fee and it is £7.50 plus VAT and that does not make it anyones worthwhile endeavour to use the internet in my case.

orlao

I don't often disagree with you Simon:D but when a vet prescribes medication IMO it's part of the consultation....for which a fee is paid.So not exactly "working for free"
My objection to the script fee is that it wouldn't be charged if the meds were bought from the surgery. TBH if my vets med charges were within £5 of the online prices I would happily buy from them just for an easy life....no prescription to collect, no order to place, not having to remember to post said prescription:o no sulky receptionist;) but when the price difference is £20 a month or equivalant to a 50% discount online I do think that some practices have only themselves to blame.

simontheiceman

orlao wrote: »

I don't often disagree with you Simon:D but when a vet prescribes medication IMO it's part of the consultation....for which a fee is paid.So not exactly "working for free"
My objection to the script fee is that it wouldn't be charged if the meds were bought from the surgery. TBH if my vets med charges were within £5 of the online prices I would happily buy from them just for an easy life....no prescription to collect, no order to place, not having to remember to post said prescription:o no sulky receptionist;) but when the price difference is £20 a month or equivalant to a 50% discount online I do think that some practices have only themselves to blame.

Point taken and I'll grudgingly concede on the "free" thing.

Technically it is really easy to keep those costs well within a few pounds of the online cost and indeed as I have said before that is what I do. What I have also done is that I have increased my professional fee costs to compensate for this hence my profitability is exactly the same. This is what the CC expected to happen so that is what I have done. My professional fees are still some way behind those in the South East but that is no bad thing.

Some practices are writing hundreds of scripts a month (I have written less than 10 since Oct 05 and 4 of those were for drugs I didnt have or wouldnt stock). I register more new clients everday than some practices register in a month and mostly this is due to drug costs and examination interval (The 3 month rule held so dear by a lot of vets causes a lot of grief).

I'm with you - I think a lot of practices only have themselves to blame. Perhaps thats why I'm still growing month on month and others are contracting (I might even see a realistic profit this year .)

orlao

Please, please Simon.......move south:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Or somehow pass on your business ethos to a few practices in this part of the world:D

hastwell

i to am fed up of the high price we pay for vets perscritions.my dog has a bad heart murmer and is on 3 tablets a day it costs me £41 every two weeks for them .i only work part time and my husband is on incapacity benifit so we can not afford these high bills.i asked about it at the vets and got no joy.all they said was he was on the best drugs for his condition.some thing needs to be done about it.

snowman2_2

Don't forget the drugs companies set the wholesale price, nothing any vet can do about that - there is a lower limit that we can set prices at. What do you want doing? Do you want to get the drugs for free? Try the RSPCA or PDSA if you are eligible.