Vet prescriptions
Discussion
Is there a standard fee for these - so you are then able to get them yourself online? Surely those pets who have long term need for pills etc it has got to be cheaper this way.
Obviously profit from practice medication sales must go back for support needed in other areas of the practice.
Obviously profit from practice medication sales must go back for support needed in other areas of the practice.
We use this outfit for some stuff http://www.365vet.co.uk/acatalog/index.html
They're actually quite near us but have only dealt with them online. Did need to phone them once and they were quite rude!
They're actually quite near us but have only dealt with them online. Did need to phone them once and they were quite rude!
When you pay for a consultation and the vet gives a prescription you don`t have to buy medication from the vet, you`re also paying for the prescription and it`s yours
You can use the prescription to legally buy cheaper medication elsewhere , eg the internet from a reputable supplier, they`ll want to see a scan / copy of the prescription to make sure it`s bona fide and cover themselves
In practice vets can make this quite difficult by passing the prescription directly to the on site pharmacy, you pay for consultation and medication at the same time then pick up your medication
Mark up on animal drugs about x3 / x4 so can make financial sense to buy elsewhere, depends if you want a good relationship with your vet, they have to make their money as well
You can use the prescription to legally buy cheaper medication elsewhere , eg the internet from a reputable supplier, they`ll want to see a scan / copy of the prescription to make sure it`s bona fide and cover themselves
In practice vets can make this quite difficult by passing the prescription directly to the on site pharmacy, you pay for consultation and medication at the same time then pick up your medication
Mark up on animal drugs about x3 / x4 so can make financial sense to buy elsewhere, depends if you want a good relationship with your vet, they have to make their money as well
Mark up on animal drugs about x3 / x4 so can make financial sense to buy elsewhere, depends if you want a good relationship with your vet, they have to make their money as well
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I totaly agree a good relationship with your vet goes a long way and I do prefer to use my local vet for drugs when needed. I just wondered how many people used online for pet drugs after reading an article in the paper about this earlier in the week.
SPR2 said:
Mark up on animal drugs about x3 / x4 so can make financial sense to buy elsewhere, depends if you want a good relationship with your vet, they have to make their money as well
I totaly agree a good relationship with your vet goes a long way and I do prefer to use my local vet for drugs when needed. I just wondered how many people used online for pet drugs after reading an article in the paper about this earlier in the week.Deva Link said:
We use this outfit for some stuff http://www.365vet.co.uk/acatalog/index.html
They don't seem to do insulin...SPR2 said:
Is there a standard fee for these - so you are then able to get them yourself online? Surely those pets who have long term need for pills etc it has got to be cheaper this way.
Obviously profit from practice medication sales must go back for support needed in other areas of the practice.
We just get our vet to write a prescription, they don't charge for it?!?!? Obviously profit from practice medication sales must go back for support needed in other areas of the practice.
But then the amount of "work" we put our vets way, I am awaiting the building of our own private consultation room........
You are perfectly entitled to get a prescription from your vet after an examination to ascertain the problem and its treatment, which by law now has to be repeated after 6 months for us to issue another prescription. It causes us no end of problems having to insist that clients bring their pets back to us for reexamination whether or not they obtain their drugs from us, but it's just us having to fulfil our legal obligations. My practice does not in my opinion overcharge for medicines, typically we add 50% to the list price and so we obviously do make money from the sales, perhaps that's acceptable for having to keep over £60k of drugs in the surgery in the correct storage conditions, any of our clients can get their prescriptions immediately after their consultation, rather than having to pay an anonymous internet shop, they can get them during the night or at the weekend if necessary. Thankfully most of my clients do get their prescriptions from us, and this does help towards the costs of running a modern surgery. If more people want to get their medicines online then you will find that you will be paying "solicitor" type fees for our services. Some vets will charge significantly more than others, we have just invested just over £1m in a new surgery, but have not increased our charges to compensate, this would probably have to change if our drug sales fell significantly. If you feel your vet is charging too much, don't feel you cant ask for a prescription, but don't expect them not to charge an appropriate fee for their services.
Just so long as I can sell you your next car 
We have a dog with Addisons Disease & its quite a pain doing a bi-monthly trip to the vet to get the Florinef prescription & then we get charged lots for the drugs of course. The fact is the dog will need the drugs for the rest of her life so being over charged every time gets a bit much!!
The price of drugs from European vets on the whole is a lot less, they seem to manage their overheads & work on a leaner system alltogether.
We have a dog with Addisons Disease & its quite a pain doing a bi-monthly trip to the vet to get the Florinef prescription & then we get charged lots for the drugs of course. The fact is the dog will need the drugs for the rest of her life so being over charged every time gets a bit much!!
The price of drugs from European vets on the whole is a lot less, they seem to manage their overheads & work on a leaner system alltogether.
To start with we weren't allowed to charge for prescriptions but now I think vets can charge between £10-£15 per prescription. In some cases pets will need checking as often as every 3 months.
Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
becksW said:
To start with we weren't allowed to charge for prescriptions but now I think vets can charge between £10-£15 per prescription. In some cases pets will need checking as often as every 3 months.
Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
Not being funny, but the bit in bold, above? Erm, yes you can Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
(unless you are tied to particular suppliers)randlemarcus said:
becksW said:
To start with we weren't allowed to charge for prescriptions but now I think vets can charge between £10-£15 per prescription. In some cases pets will need checking as often as every 3 months.
Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
Not being funny, but the bit in bold, above? Erm, yes you can Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
(unless you are tied to particular suppliers)becksW said:
randlemarcus said:
becksW said:
To start with we weren't allowed to charge for prescriptions but now I think vets can charge between £10-£15 per prescription. In some cases pets will need checking as often as every 3 months.
Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
Not being funny, but the bit in bold, above? Erm, yes you can Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
(unless you are tied to particular suppliers)Deva Link said:
We use this outfit for some stuff http://www.365vet.co.uk/acatalog/index.html
They're actually quite near us but have only dealt with them online. Did need to phone them once and they were quite rude!
Go on, how rude...?They're actually quite near us but have only dealt with them online. Did need to phone them once and they were quite rude!
randlemarcus said:
becksW said:
To start with we weren't allowed to charge for prescriptions but now I think vets can charge between £10-£15 per prescription. In some cases pets will need checking as often as every 3 months.
Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
Not being funny, but the bit in bold, above? Erm, yes you can Just to note, we can't always buy in the drugs for the price that they are sold on line, they must get some mega discounts in the first place to sell them for the price they do.
(unless you are tied to particular suppliers)Dont get me wrong, I'm not having a dig at you, or your charges. I was simply pointing out that she could in fact buy the drugs, from the online sorts, and resell them.
Nobody, I feel would deny you a margin for what appears to be a significant extra overhead in staffing and stocking, but deliberately buying stock more expensively than you can source it for doesnt strike me as sensible, unless you get sale or return terms...
Nobody, I feel would deny you a margin for what appears to be a significant extra overhead in staffing and stocking, but deliberately buying stock more expensively than you can source it for doesnt strike me as sensible, unless you get sale or return terms...
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