Vets fee

chookmom

I took my dog to the vet with a rash on his belly.
The vet said it was probably an allergic reaction that had gone septic and prescribed Antirobe 200mg (made up of 150mg + 75mg capsules) once a day. She said it may clear up before that and stop the meds if it did. She also game me some Pro-colin for his stomach.
The rash has gone after 4 days of the Antirobe.
I have just had the bill. £109.28 :eek:
I queried it with the receptionist who told me £60 was for the Antirobe, most of which I won't use. She offered me the chance to query it with the Vet but they are not likely to change it are they? They won't take unused tablets back or admit she over prescribed.
The same prescription online would have cost me £26.70. Is that kind of mark up usual

NICHOLAS_2

I think it's too late to moan now, you should have asked them before hand? Maybe? :cool:

They have business overheads so would be more expensive than sourcing them from some factory online..

chookmom

Oh, never too late to moan, NICHOLAS.
Too late to change anything but not too late to moan

Beckyy

I've always found vets markups on medication to be extortionate. You can ask for a prescription instead in the future, though check how much they charge for one first. The last one I paid for was over £10. Things like pro-kolin you don't need a prescription from to buy elsewhere, but vets will still charge a mark-up. http://www.viovet.co.uk/Protexin_Pro-Kolin/c664/?quick_find=127885&gclid=CjwKEAjwpsGqBRCioKet--bp_QcSJADCtbsbO5rFLBpplTpNsD0R97WBOdDAHfb7eRtHP2yAPj0lCxoC7XDw_wcB

I'd only buy through the vets if it's meds you need immediately, most reputable online pet pharmacies will offer the option of express postage for speedy delivery. I hope your dog is okay now

sheramber

chookmom wrote: »

I took my dog to the vet with a rash on his belly.
The vet said it was probably an allergic reaction that had gone septic and prescribed Antirobe 200mg (made up of 150mg + 75mg capsules) once a day. She said it may clear up before that and stop the meds if it did. She also game me some Pro-colin for his stomach.
The rash has gone after 4 days of the Antirobe.
I have just had the bill. £109.28 :eek:
I queried it with the receptionist who told me £60 was for the Antirobe, most of which I won't use. She offered me the chance to query it with the Vet but they are not likely to change it are they? They won't take unused tablets back or admit she over prescribed.
The same prescription online would have cost me £26.70. Is that kind of mark up usual

You should have been given a detailed bill showing how the charge was arrived at. e.i consultation charge, drugs charge etc

Vets cannot buy drugs for the price an online supplier can. Think Tesco compared to corner shop. They are also restricted to where they can buy their drugs so cannot buy from the online suppliers like their clients can.

Vets are restricted to buying smaller amounts to make sure drugs do not go out of date before being used.

You can get a prescription from your vet to buy elsewhere but check what your vet charges for issuing one. My vet charges £12 plus a consultation fee so it may not always be cheaper to get a presription and buy elsewhwere.

Remember you need your vet to diagnose and treat your pet and all the costs involved in running a vet practice need to be paid for.

chookmom

Thank you.
I was given a break down. (I detailed the amount for the drugs)
I am not unused to vets bills but this one seemed out of the ordinary and part of the moan was the waste of drugs and hence money.
Anyone want to buy 10 days supply (£40 worth) of dog antibiotics at a reduced price

meritaten

check the use by date and keep them - if he has another 'allergic reaction' then you already have the meds.
and its not much of a diagnosis if you don't know what he is 'allergic' to?

pinkteapot

Our vet charges £12 to write a prescription, if you don't buy the medicine from them. Coincidentally, their mark-up over online drug prices is usually about £12, so we might as well buy stuff from them.

For routine things like flea/worming treatments, I check online prices, but when our kitty has needed treatment as he's been unwell we've just paid there and then as we wouldn't want to wait for an online order to arrive.

Our vet is good at telling us the price of drugs when they tell us what he needs. We had a good moment with them once. He needed antibiotics for an infection. They said we could give him pills twice a day for a week, or they could give him a one-off injection, but that cost a bit more. Knowing how hard it is to get pills into him, we asked what the difference was. They said the pills were £9 and the injection £15. We opted for the injection.

I don't think you'll get far arguing the bill after the fact, but next time ask for prices when they're explaining what treatment they want to give. Ask how quickly he needs the medicine and if there are any cheaper brands/alternatives.

teddysmum

Now that prescriptions are no longer free(and the prices seem to be escalating), I buy online for ongoing drugs (I have a dog on atopica and have had them on heart meds) but buy from the vet for immediate or one-off treatments.


My vet buys from the company that employs my son is a delivery driver and in some cases his margin is very small. However, I do think the fixed dispensing fee, charged per item is rather unfair as it is more than the cost of some drugs prescribed (eg frusemide ). £3 for taking a packet from a shelf. £6 for two packets.

meritaten

my vets don't even give a detailed 'breakdown' of the charges. this surprises me as they are a 'chain' vets and you would think the computer could do this - you just get the total amount on the receipt.

sheramber

meritaten wrote: »

my vets don't even give a detailed 'breakdown' of the charges. this surprises me as they are a 'chain' vets and you would think the computer could do this - you just get the total amount on the receipt.

You can ask for a detailed receipt.