Asking vet for a prescription

dogmanmij

Hi,Just wanted to ask, does anyone know what the legal position is regarding the issuing of written prescriptions by vets? ( I want to buy medication on the internet, as it is half the price the vet is charging) My vet says I can only have a prescription to cover 3 months treatment, then I have to pay them (£7.66) for another three month prescription, and so on. My dog will be on the medication prescribed, for the rest of her life, and as I have recently become unemployed, I have to make savings wherever I can. I won't have my dog going without her medication, but I do wonder if the vet is correct saying they can only give written prescriptions to cover three months, as it is illegal to issue prescriptions for a longer period. Any information greatly appreciated.
dogmanmij.

snowman2_2

Your vet is absolutely correct and actually seems to be charging a fair price for a reasonable amount of prescription.

Croatoan

Can I ask, is it usual to charge a fee (£30-ish) for accepting direct payments from the insurance company?

On the whole I agree with what the forum vets have had to say on charges. Vets are private businesses and medical procedures, human or animal, are expensive. The only problem I've had with what I consider overcharging was when the vet (Petmedics) sent their own van to collect my dog for the two minute drive to their surgery - we couldn't get him there ourselves and he couldn't walk - and charged £60, which I thought a bit excessive.

krlyr

I've never had direct payments set up but from what I've heard it's becoming more and more unusual for vets to do it, thanks to iffy insurance companies not paying up, so personally I'd think myself lucky to find a vet willing, even if it costs £30!

Croatoan

I was told by White Cross they do accept them (from Petplan) if the bill is "a few hundred pounds or more".
Petmedics took them for two £1000 plus operations on my cat, but I'm not sure if I was charged extra for doing so.

jay_grand

Honestly, just change vet... !!!

jay_grand

simontheiceman wrote: »

what?

I posit that it would be nice to put the prices on a par with dentists or lawyers ( my dentist is £39 for 10mins and my lawyer is £45 and the private doctor I use is £45). Perhaps then I could have an income comparable with these other professions. Perhaps you could start a BBC HYS or a Daily Mail campaign on this!

simontheiceman wrote: »

what?

I posit that it would be nice to put the prices on a par with dentists or lawyers ( my dentist is £39 for 10mins and my lawyer is £45 and the private doctor I use is £45). Perhaps then I could have an income comparable with these other professions. Perhaps you could start a BBC HYS or a Daily Mail campaign on this!

I don't think you should charge anything remotely close to what a human is charged for. I also don;t think a GP charge a 100% margin on medicine Vs the web what soever, and I also don;t think that they charge for a prescription. charge me for filling in the insurance form that pays YOU, and i will change vet immediately never to return.

pawsies

Tribulation wrote: »

I've found that there are vets and there are vets.

The vet I use is superb. Very reasonable consultation prices, never minds if you need to pay over a few months, tells you when something is a rip off and not worth buying etc.

When my dog was put down earlier this week, I offered to sort out the bill and they simply said

"Don't worry about things like that now"

They also said we could stay as long as we liked

Friday we received a lovely hand written card from the vets offering their condolences at the loss of our dog.

The care they've shown us over the years and the honesty (eg while they say they will do as we wish, have strongly advised us against procedures in elderly animals that they feel is a complete waste of our money etc) is worth the extra in my opinion.

If I had a pet that needed long term medication for life, if it was expensive at the vets and I could get it a lot cheaper elsewhere, first I would ask the vets is there's anything they could do with the price once the insurance ran out, but if not and I could save myself £20+ a month I would be silly not to.

which vets is that please? Hope its near me

pawsies

hieveryone wrote: »

My vets won't even write out a prescription without seeing my dog first - my dog has been on the same medication for years but the vet insists that instead of a repeat prescription, he must see her, adding the consultation fee on too.

I have the same issue

pawsies

keys wrote: »

And at the end of the day if you choose to have a pet { just like you choose to have a child } you should be financially stable to support them !!!!??????!!!!

Disagree, people who can't afford to keep their animals should do what exactly? Take it to rescue centre = stressed dog which is more unlikely to recover? Dump it on street or vets?

Plus, do you really think a dog is better off on the street or in a rescue centre than in a loving home where yes, maybe they can't afford for everything but would try their best to pay for essential medication for the dog?