Vets to charge fees on formerly free written prescription?
As from 1st November 2008, vets will have the possibility to charge a fee for writing a prescription following a change in law.
This marks the end of a three-year ban during which vets were not allowed to incur any fees for producing a prescription: the ban was introduced to break the monopoly vets were holding on medicine supply. Since then, vets have been forced to lower the price of medicine due to an increasing competition of online pharmacies that offer the exact same products at a discounted rate. As a result they have been clawing back on lost revenues but increasing other charges like consultation fees, treatment costs and possibly, from 1st November 2008, prescription fees too.
Each practice will be able to determine whether and how much they want to charge for writing a prescription but they will need to make it clear to their customers and be consistent. Insured customers won’t have to worry as prescription fees will be covered by their pet insurance policy.
Others might see a small increase in vet bills but at least they’ll be able to buy medication online. Petmeds.co.uk currently offers free postage and an extra 5% discount with the following code: pet435.
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September 16th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
There is little doubt that most veterinary practices are going to charge for their prescriptions soon after the 1st November. There are grounds to do so, and it would probably be eccepted by their clients. Many veterinary practices do not reduce their prices for drugs due to still relatively low precentage of pet owners who seek for online medications. Despite of three years of free prescriptions, and vast price differences, it is more viable for vets to keep their prices. Charging for prescriptions will reduce this gap between vets and online pharmacies and will not enhance the price awearness concept. Comparevetdrugs.com is a price comparison website for veterinary medications. it is promoting healthy compotition and will result in increased public awearness. this in turn will shift the market direcion to the online pharmacies in the UK as a whole.
October 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I have recently been looking in to whether it would be cheaper to buy the drugs that my dog needs from an online store. The prices for the drugs themselves are 50% cheaper. However, you then find out that your vet wants £27 for a pescription fee, he will not provide a pescription for longer than 2-3 months, he will charge to re-assess the condition. By the time you have finished there is little net savings and you have lost your vet’s compassion that has taken years to build.
Unfortunately they have got you over a barrel and the sooner the government realises and extends the Competition Order of 2005 the better.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
This is a very fair point. If you have pet insurance, then prescriptions fees will be reimbursed. By going online to buy medication you lower your chances of a premium increase on your insurance. It’s not unusual for insurers to give a premium increase based on the amount of money you claimed for the previous year, so buying online makes sense.
However, it’s true that you don’t want to jeopardise your relationship with your vet, who’s looked after your pet for so many years. Vets may be bitter if you buy online but to be fair they’ve eventually been found out: they over-price the medicine they sell in their practice and make huge margins. It’s only fair they now get a backdraft, especially in these economic circumstances.
March 19th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
My dog is almost 10 yars old and has started to take medication for arthritis. The vet is happy with his improvement and will re-assess him in 6 months. The medication however is very expensive and can be purchased on-line for less than half the price as supplied by the vet. Consequently I asked my vet for a written prescription. They provided one at a cost of £8 but they will not put this on ‘repeat’ even though arthritis is a long-term condition and insist we go back to them every month for a new prescription. This seems wrong,as they are happy not to see our dog for 6 months.It feels that they are ‘ripping us off’ however they quote the Veterinary Medicines Act. Have they got a fair argument?
March 19th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Hi Tracey,
I think your vet can do pretty much what they want in that respect. Just found out an article from Pete Wedderburn regarding this very problem. Funnily enough he mentions dog arthritis. He says:
“A repeat consultation may be required for long-term medication if the vet judges that it’s too long since the animal was examined to be sure that the medicine is still appropriate and safe.”
“You know that your dog has arthritis and he’s been on the same drug for the past two years: why can’t you just go and buy it in the same way as you buy Solpadeine for your own headaches? The fact is that prescription only drugs need to be used safely. Yes, your dog might be fine, but it’s also possible that he might have developed jaundice that you might not be aware of. Continued use of the drug could be dangerous for him. Drugs are regulated for a good reason: to make sure that they cause as little harm as possible. It may be frustrating for cash-strapped pet owners, but the system has been set up to be as safe as possible for pets, whilst still offering consumers some choice.”
I would say that it’s one of these cases and at least you can get the medication online at a cheaper price. By the way, you can get 10% OFF at Petmeds.co.uk today.
See: http://www.pet-insurance-discount.co.uk/link/petmeds
To read more about Pete’s article: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterwedderburn/100008891/buying-best-value-medicines-for-your-pet/
I hope this helps.