Veterinary prescription charges

MrsE_2

Why don't vets just charge the proper price (the price we can get it online for) for medications & charge whatever they feel they need to for consultations?

Using drugs to subsidise consultations is silly as customers are becomming increasingly savvied up to internet shopping & vets will loose this part of their service.

simontheiceman

MrsE wrote: »

Why don't vets just charge the proper price (the price we can get it online for) for medications & charge whatever they feel they need to for consultations?

Using drugs to subsidise consultations is silly as customers are becomming increasingly savvied up to internet shopping & vets will loose this part of their service.

Been doing it for years now - I just put up the price of the consults / surgery when have to reduce the price of a drug due to "internets shoppers". It does mean that EVERYONE has to pay more cos one person wants it cheaper but there we go.

MrsE_2

simontheiceman wrote: »

Been doing it for years now - I just put up the price of the consults / surgery when have to reduce the price of a drug due to "internets shoppers". It does mean that EVERYONE has to pay more cos one person wants it cheaper but there we go.

Actually I think its fair.

Why should people pay more for drugs to keep consultations down, why not just pay the right & realistic rate for both.

snowman2_2

Who says internet prices are the right price? How many of these companies are still going to be trading in 5 years time? I will only price match with the longer standing internet pharmacies as I am not convinced of the business model of some of these sites. You also can't expect a full service bricks and mortar business to charge the same as a one man band operating out of a shed somewhere.

MrsE_2

snowman2 wrote: »

Who says internet prices are the right price? How many of these companies are still going to be trading in 5 years time? I will only price match with the longer standing internet pharmacies as I am not convinced of the business model of some of these sites. You also can't expect a full service bricks and mortar business to charge the same as a one man band operating out of a shed somewhere.

Of course.

But what I'm saying is, I think its silly to use drug sales to subsidise consultations.

You need to compete with major drug pharmacies, if you don't people will use your subsidised consultation & buy the meds elsewhere.

Fleago

One of my dogs requires medication costing £35 per month, which I know I could get online considerably cheaper.

An online retailer, however, wouldn't come out early on a Sunday morning to receive the body of one of our dogs who had died very suddenly, nor would they have shown us such compassion in the aftermath. They wouldn't have looked over our little kitten for absolutely no charge whatsoever, simply because there was nothing wrong with the kitten and we were just being over anxious. They wouldn't have done any of the little and not so little things our practice have done for our pets and for us over many years.

So, yes, it is more pricey for the medication, but we feel it's a price worth paying for the care and support our practice gives us.

wolvesinwales

Sounds like the OPs dog has the same problems and medication as our 12 year old Staffie , we are lucky in as much as our vet, when we told him the insurance was running out, told us to look online for the medication and even posted a prescription to us without charge.
We have spent probably over a £1000 there in the last few years but still a nice gesture.

orlao

Fleago wrote: »

One of my dogs requires medication costing £35 per month, which I know I could get online considerably cheaper.

An online retailer, however, wouldn't come out early on a Sunday morning to receive the body of one of our dogs who had died very suddenly, nor would they have shown us such compassion in the aftermath. They wouldn't have looked over our little kitten for absolutely no charge whatsoever, simply because there was nothing wrong with the kitten and we were just being over anxious. They wouldn't have done any of the little and not so little things our practice have done for our pets and for us over many years.

So, yes, it is more pricey for the medication, but we feel it's a price worth paying for the care and support our practice gives us.

Not being picky but I would expect my vets to deal with a tragic event like losing a pet whatever day/time it was as part of the service they provide.......no matter where I bought my flea treatments/wormers/prescription meds To do otherwise would, IMHO be unprofessional.

I agree with MrsE that I prefer to pay a "true" cost of consultation rather than have med sales subsidising the consultation fee as I can see many vet practices struggling to survive if customers decide to go online to purchase meds and as consumers it is in our interests to have a healthy competitive industry to allow us to choose our providers!

There is also the point that, as a business, wouldn't you prefer to see a client buy their food,wormers and frontline from you? No prescription required so no consultation fee but some of my local vets charge DOUBLE the price (ie. drontal) compared to online. That is a lost opportunity to make a sale- you are already open, staffed, paying all the bills etc- and by reducing the price of non script items to near, maybe not as low as online prices that is extra profit with minimal extra costs as people will pay a little extra for convenience but not huge amounts.

MrsTinks

kingkano wrote: »

I'll say! We have 2 cats and they recommended Stronghold so we went with it. But they charge £54 for 6 applications. The same was £24 online last time I ordered. Luckily they charge a reasonable £10+vat script charge and will give me 6mths for each cat on 1 script. (which means it costs me near enough half their price)

Surely their cost must be under £20? SO why charge £54 for it? Thats considerably more than standard retail markup, and for something they must shift caseloads?!! IF they charged even £35 I would just buy it there....

Can any of you vets explain this one? DO you guys charge this much for Stronghold for cats?

Because they probably DON'T get it for £20 - the online shops can because they buy hundreds of cases and require very little mark up - they have minimal staff, no training required and probably pay their staff minimum wages. Your vet probably buys a case now and then to avoid getting stuck with outdated stock they can't sell, their staff need to be trained in more than packing boxes, they pay higher than minimum salary to their nurses and receptionists not to mention vets and the cost of renting a surgery etc is a LOT higher than hiring a warehouse in the cheapest part of the country

I'm not saying I agree with the price your vet is charging btw - I have no idea what mark up they have on that drug or what deal they get when they buy it, but those are the things that affect the prices my friends surgery charges for things (we've often discussed this ) - and she's so fed up with people complaining about the price of drugs etc compared to online - half the time she can only get it at the same price that you can buy it for online (and that's not counting abroad as buying prescription drugs abroad and having them shipped here actually requires you to have an import licence and if you don't it's illigal and not MSE ) and she still have to put a mark up on top...

Oh another thing about online drugs - often they sell off drugs a lot cheaper because they have a shorter shelf life - they're still in date, but it's shorter than what your local vet might have about... Not always, just some places

Fleago

orlao wrote: »

Not being picky but I would expect my vets to deal with a tragic event like losing a pet whatever day/time it was as part of the service they provide.......no matter where I bought my flea treatments/wormers/prescription meds To do otherwise would, IMHO be unprofessional.

No pickiness inferred, Orlao, and I quite agree that dealing with a deceased pet is part of the service that a veterinary practice should provide, but the point I was making is that I view the services that my practice provides as part of a whole package, including dispensing medication, and not as a service that we pick and choose which elements we will avail ourselves of, because the rewards of veiwing the business relationship between our practice and ourselves as a whole are worth more than the savings to be had buying medication online.

As a result, we have the services of a practice who know our animals inside out and who do little extras for us that they are not professionally obliged to do - they go above and beyond the call of duty for us, if you like. We prefer to be wholly loyal to them and, in return, I believe that they recognise and value our loyalty.

Yes, it was a tragedy when we suddenly lost one of our beloved dogs last week; the difference being that our practice recognised it as a tragedy and responded with more than that which they would have been professionally obliged to provide.

I think, however, that this is a subject that divides into two camps, so perhaps we'll need to agree to differ on this one, Orlao.