Buying prescription drugs on line - will my vet let me?

snowman2_2

There are several vet versions of meloxicam and I can dispense any of them but only 1 form of Felimazole. I cannot dispense or prescribe human meloxicam. When a new drug is developed, the manufacturer has 19 years (I think) of exclusivity before any other company can sell the drug - Felimazole is still many years off that time. There are certain drugs that I prescribe as generic name, usually human drugs where no vet alternative exists. Brand names are usually used when there is only 1 option - like Felimazole or Vidalta. These two categories are 99% of our prescriptions that we write.

The odd one is the middle ground, several vet versions. When a new generic version becomes available - like Effipro last year, the price is normally 25% less than the original product which then forces the original manufacturer / brand holder to reduce prices to compete (usually - Frontline did not reduce in price). We sell Metacam still as they have given us a discount which matches the generic versions. We just plug the cost price into our system and the computer does the rest. If cost price goes down, our sale price goes down. We can usually compete with the generics as the manufacturers do good deals. I write hardly any prescriptions for generics like this so this situation doesn't normally come up.

As to the few months wait, we only usually find out about generics at release time so have no warning. If you get 3 months dispensed or a 3 month prescription, that is all you will have to wait until you can potentially get the cheaper drugs, there is no point swapping until you have used up current stocks. Your next prescription or dispense can be the cheaper drug - that is what I mean, not that the vet will ignore a cheaper option. I have changed brand names many times, only really metacam that I stick with as the product is a comparable price. I have to be competitive with my prices or I lose business to the internet so I keep on top of new drugs but it does take a long time. Some drugs now are commodity items where I shop around for the best price.