Veterinary prescription charges

snowman2_2

A lot of drugs have a fixed dose so that is not going to change but conditions deteriorate and you are right, not every dog/cat with heart or kidney disease are going to survive 3 years. What a 3-year prescription says is that don't need to be checked for 3 years - how many dogs / cats are going to suffer in that time because their medication needs changing? Not 100% by any stretch but at least 40% will need some change in medication or will have died because they have not had the correct treatment. Diseases progress - fact of life unfortunately.
If something is not therapeutically beneficial, the animal is suffering as the treatment is no longer working and you are wasting your money on an ineffective drug that needs changing or adding to. Heart disease often requires 2, 3 or even 4 drugs to control.
As for profit, a 3 year prescription reduces veterinary care to an animal whilst (probably) boosting drugs sales. I make the bulk of my profit from selling my time for consuktations / surgery and I am actively being encouraged to move my business model to charging more ofr time and less for drugs. This proposal will reduce my time spent with some animals and reduce my profit. It will reduce animal welfare as not every animal will get the check ups they require (some will but a lot wont get checked). So who will gain? The people who make money through selling drugs as primary income source - pharmaceutical companies & internet pharmacies - NOT vets. Who is pushing for the change in the law because it isn't us vets - must be drugs companies and pharmacies. Why are they pushing for a change int he law? Answer - profit.
Sorry it is a bit long winded but politicians and business men shouldn't make animal welfare decisons about how long an animal needs a drug for. That should be the vet who cares for that particular animal.

bbbfmiot

I have been reading this thread with interest. My cat has kidney disease and I have to give him daily Aqupharm 11 fluids. He reacts very well to this, and I hope he will be around for a while longer. My pet insurance is running out soon, and my vet is overcharging me for the meds. He charges £45 for a 1000ml bag, while online i can buy it for £6 (found out today)!! I need 3 bags a month, and paying £150 or £18 is a huge difference. I understand the need to charge extra, but this is ridiculous. I hope he will be willing to write a repeat prescription for several months, I would still bring my cat in for regular check ups as I am pleased with the services my cat got.

snowman2_2

You are being charged £45 just for 1 litre of No11? :eek:
That is a disgrace if that is all you are being charged for. We charge £5.50 for a litre bag and am still making a profit on that. I would have a word with one of the partners with your concern about that cost and see if they will come down to £6 but I am surprised your insurance company has paid that much. Fair enough if they are charging for their time but that is over a 1000% mark-up. Whether you like their services or not, ouch!

hethmar

My dogs Optimmune was £29 last year (a month). It went up to £31 and then £39 and this last month it was £41. I asked the only other vet in town how much a tube was (tiny tube by the way) and they charge £52. I have found it on the net for as low as £16 but generally around the £24 mark - however vet charges £15 for a script ...................... gigantic profit here

snowman2_2

Where are you getting it for £16? That is almost half the manufacturers list price before any mark-up has been added. I would save well over £12 a tube buying it myself from that site. Are you sure it was not for a human generic?

hethmar

Im not getting it from the internet - I cant remember which site it was now, but based in London, a vet pharmacy. Have a google - I even rung them to check it was the same and they assured me it was. I mentioned it to the vet reception and they said they werent allowed to buy it from anyone other than their usual supplier, which sounds rubbish to me.

So you get it for £28 now - and our vets are charging up to £52 a tube, virtually double.

bbbfmiot

snowman2 wrote: »

You are being charged £45 just for 1 litre of No11? :eek:
That is a disgrace if that is all you are being charged for. We charge £5.50 for a litre bag and am still making a profit on that. I would have a word with one of the partners with your concern about that cost and see if they will come down to £6 but I am surprised your insurance company has paid that much. Fair enough if they are charging for their time but that is over a 1000% mark-up. Whether you like their services or not, ouch!

I will speak to the vet next week he is away atm , I am so upset about this. If I can't get it cheaper or on a repeat prescription, I will change vets. I hope that the new practice will not be annoyed too much if I come from another practice.
The cat also takes prillium drops and ipatekemine (sp?) to mix in the food. The kidney/liver bloodtests cost about £150.

hethmar

The new practice will probably be overjoyed I remember taking one of mine for a second opinion to another vet and before I knew it they had requested all her paperwork from the old vet by fax so I was sort of moved without me doing anything. It was a good job too, old vet had missed serious gum disease (which is why I wanted second opinion due to extreme bad breath) and poor old girl had 3 teeth taken out.

bbf, they arent charging you for a visit aswell as the medication are they? I know mine makes me go every three months for a checkup which lasts 2 minutes and costs another £25 on top of the eye ointment.

Katstar

HI. New to this, so apologies in advance for any minor (or major) faux pas I may make!
My cat has been diagnosed with blood pressure problems, (has been in the vet hospital and back on her paws now) and the vet has told me she needs to be on a drug called Istin for life. I bought the first three tablets from my practice, but feel I'm being scalped. The tablet, Istin 5 mg, cost me £38 for 3, and I've found it on vetscriptions for £12.99 for 28! This means that after the prescription charge, the tablets are costing me just over £9 each, instead of just under 50p each from this website! Even if I was to pay the vet prescription charge, which I think I read in the clinic as £10.74, I'll still be saving a lot! Has anyone used this company, and are they ok? I'll be asking my vet about getting a prescription only, but want to check I'm doing the right thing first.

albacookie

No idea about the website but Istin is a human medication so it might be worth checking with your local high street pharmacy how much they would sell it to you for.