Vet Perscription to buy online

hubb

My cat needs tabs that were charged well over the online price by our vets. I asked if they would write me a prescription which they charged me £9.00 for. I scanned it and got my online tabs. As the date on it was written to be valid for 6 months, it does state (no repeats) very craftily on it so I cannot re-order.

When I tried to order again online using the records they already have from the scanned prescription, I got the message "The prescription we have on file for this product has been used to capacity"

So, as I am trying to save money I have had the idea of "editing" the JPG scan with another date and issue number BUT I don't know how far I am pushing it legally. For a human medical prescription this would be a no no but for a cat ? I am just trying to save the vet ripping me off another £9 for basically a bit of paper. Do they check with the vet ?

visidigi

You need to get a new prescription - they can check with the vet and you could find yourself in deep trouble...

As for the vet ripping you off, if the cost of prescription and the drugs is cheaper than getting it direct from the Vet then you are still making a saving...

hubb

Don't fancy deep trouble so will order another. Fair enough.

keyser666

Not advocating anything but you could get another one and ahem, cover out the "no repeat prescriptions" tickbox and then send it in as it would be on file then that repeats were allowed. Like I said not advocating anything:A

hubb

Blind eye turned.

rustyboy21

How do you know that it is safe, keeping on giving your cat the same meds on a long term basis.

I know you are trying to save money, but you could be causing more harm to your cat by keeping on giving the medicine. The Vet will know if it is safe to keep on using the drugs .

There is one thing trying to money save, another is unwittigly harming your poor cat. IMO , a vet is more experienced in working this out, not you by covering up information on the script.

Why don't you just ask for , say a 6 month supply prescription from your vet?

Fire_Fox

Craftily? If you trust your vet that much change vets. Not all drugs are suitable to be on repeat, some can be on repeat after the first couple of months when the doctor/ vet knows the patient is doing well.

Consider pet insurance in future, with a good policy every illness will be considered one claim so all the tests and prescriptions are subject to a single excess not one each time you get a repeat.

"The VMD has received sporadic correspondence from veterinary surgeons and pharmacists reporting that members of the public have sought to obtain veterinary medicinal products illegally through prescription tampering or fraud.
The most common scenarios are:
amended date of prescription; amended quantity of the medicine prescribed.

In response to these reports the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) were amended in 2009 to make it a criminal offence to tamper with a written prescription. Schedule 3 Part 5(3) of the VMR states that „no person may alter a written prescription unless authorised to do so by the person who signed it‟.

However, this provision in the VMR does not cover the scenario where a prescription is submitted electronically, or via fax, to multiple retailers in order to receive multiple quantities of the medicines detailed in the prescription or where a “fake” prescription is created by fraudulently using a veterinary surgeon‟s identity."
http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/pdf/PrescriptionFraud.pdf