Can a vet write a pet prescription that can be filled at a regular pharmacy?

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  captobvious on 03/05/2017 - 22:25

  +1

  1) Big mark ups at the Vets for medicines.

  2) pharmacist prescription only medicine is not likely.

  Previcox gout medicine for dogs
  Methadone - your dog is in a world of hurt?

  • 

    Gravy on 03/05/2017 - 22:52

    Previcox shot was as an anti-inflammatory to get him some quick relief, as was the Methadone I guess. Probably a slipped disc or something.

    • 

      captobvious on 03/05/2017 - 22:58

      some drugs you wont get dispensed, like narcotics, drugs of addiction etc as you would expect.
      you will have to pay full pricing no pbs for the things they can dispense for your dog if available which may still end up cheaper than the vet.

      • 

        Gravy on 03/05/2017 - 23:15

        Yeah the pricings I found online were not PBS.

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  Diji1 on 03/05/2017 - 22:42

  2) Can a vet write me a script for an animal whereby I can actually take the script to a regular chemist to purchase the meds more cheaply or do regular chemists not accept pet prescriptions?

  No chance on Diazapam since black market diversion is/was a huge issue.

  • 

    Gravy on 03/05/2017 - 22:46

    So a vet can't write a prescription for this particular med that can be filled elsewhere other than their surgery?

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  holdenmg on 03/05/2017 - 22:43

  +1

  Check out:
  https://petchemist.com.au/pages/search-results?q=previcox
  Previcox 57mg $1.07 (per tablet)

  • 

    Gravy on 03/05/2017 - 22:47

    Nice spot, did not expect an online seller to do a per tablet price.

    • 

      PVA on 03/05/2017 - 22:49

      maybe contact them about the other items too.

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  FirstNameLastName on 03/05/2017 - 22:46

  (edit sorry for ramble.. half asleep)
  will ask tomorrow when i'm at the vets.

  have heard..
  1) yeah markups, but also a single vet clinic wouldn't have the bulk-buy power of chem warehouse?
  also.. unsure but maybe that 'full price' is still a govt negotiated price.. ie not completely free market.. at least for human usage.
  (as for x-ray, yeah i think the 'full price' is still subsidised in ways a vet surgery wouldn't be. ?)

  2) yes they can write script for normal pharm (maybe not for diaz tho?)

  but will ask tomorrow eh.
  p.s you could phone and ask your vets.. they are prob used to answering these sorts of questions.
  they'd prob prefer you did.
  keep in mind vet = 5 years uni.. come out with low pay compared to others.. high suicide risk profession… a lot of stress.. liberals seek to make the uni course $250k apparently. (?) that will go nicely with their 500k mortgage. go easy on them.

  • 

    Gravy on 03/05/2017 - 22:57

    Yeah will definitely ask next time before purchasing directly through them.

    They dont need the bulk buy power if the prices I found can be accessed by anyone. I am also wondering if there is a difference in what price they are able to get for pet use though as perhaps it is not as cheap for them?

    Appreciate that vets need to charge for their time, but massive markups on meds is more what Im looking at here.

    • 

      FirstNameLastName on 04/05/2017 - 19:02

      Spoke to vet.. suggested they need to cover costs for shrinkage/handling/storing the medications and procedural/document/audit requirements around that.

      They said they always openly recommend using a normal pharmacy for long term treatment to save client costs.

      I guess it's a bit like if you need 100 copies of a report you may go to a printers.. but for a few pages maybe you'll make do with the 60c the newsagency charges.. yeah the newsagency may pay the same per print as Officeworks, but they still have the hassles and extra risk of having the equipment there..

      I was agree the markup/cost is substantial..and that you should seek alternative solutions for long term.

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  PVA on 03/05/2017 - 22:49

  someone mentioned about pet meds maybe a year back. I think it was Tightarse. big discounts but you need a script.

  edit - found it https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/244719 and it was member Land Of Smeg, not Tightarse.
  https://www.petceutics.com.au/

  50 for $5.90 https://www.petceutics.com.au/diazepam-valpam-5mg.html

  20 for $6.50 https://www.petceutics.com.au/tramal-sr-50mg.html

  previcox seems to be only 60 tablets $54.80 https://www.petceutics.com.au/previcox-tablets-57mg-60.html?…

  • 

    Gravy on 03/05/2017 - 23:07

    interesting thread thanks. Someone there mentioned that some drugs are not available to vets for animal use at the same price as for human use, would be interesting to know more about that.

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  thechemist on 03/05/2017 - 23:17

  1. Markups is not the way it is looked at here. Even if you got 50 diazepam tablets from the vet it would still be around the same price. The pricing formula most likely includes a dispensing fee of around $20.

  2. You can ask your vet for prescriptions and they may or may not. Clearly they would prefer to make more money but depends on the vet. Some medication names may be the same but the dose or dose form is an animal only one ( a lot of antibiotics) and you must get at vets

  We find that vets are more than happy to write prescriptions for ongoing medication (monthly eye drops etc.) if they are readily available at the pharmacy

  • 

    Gravy on 03/05/2017 - 23:20

    Interesting, would the dispensing fee be a per med fee, or one fee for several meds dispensed in the same consultation?

    The dose form for the Tramal and Diazapam from this consult seem to be regular human tabs. Just have to half/quarter them etc in this case for my dog.

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  thechemist on 03/05/2017 - 23:23

  according to your post it seems per med, could be something like cost + 10% plus dispensing fee of around $20 for each medicine. There is no PBS (limits to maximum paid and government formulas for fees and markups) so its pretty much whatever they want to charge and you are happy to pay

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  CMH on 03/05/2017 - 23:28

  I work in a pharmacy.

  Vet pricing is OFF THE SCALE. This is especially true for cheaper medications such as antibiotics and low-level painkillers. Think over 300% markup from the prices my customers are saying. (This might be just for the vet near my area, your experience may vary)

  As for presctiptions, yes they can write them. We dispense them every so often without issue. My question would be if the vet is allowed to write certain prescriptions. I must say I've never seen prescriptions for any drugs that may be abused.

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  kimmylala on 03/05/2017 - 23:38

  My partner says yes

  • 

    Tasmaniac on 04/05/2017 - 05:28

    +1

    And yet computer says no.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WOdjCb4LwQY

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  Strahany on 04/05/2017 - 00:40

  We were getting scripts written up for my dog as she was getting on - both naproxen and tramadol. Instead of paying their huge prices we paid something like $15 per prescription and took it to an online retailer of vet medicine. It worked out to be almost half the cost.

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  dogboy on 04/05/2017 - 01:11

  +1

  Vets in Australia are flat out thieves. Needed to get another lot of medication for my dog but they won't sell it without another $70 consultation. 2 minute consultation later I get the $5 medicine for a total of $75. Another time at another vet they made me do expensive tests to verify if my dog had a bacterial or yeast infection in her ear. Medicine they gave me listed that it treated both.

  Now that the big chains are taking over the majority of the smaller vet surgeries it is becoming harder and harder to find one that is affordable/ethical. I now drive 45 minutes from Brisbane to a rural vet rather than go to the one 100m from my house as it is less than half the price of the local one with more attention and empathy shown towards both pet and owner.

  • 

    zolinger on 04/05/2017 - 07:17

    You don't actually need to bring your dog to the vet… We all do it because they're trained to deliver the best medical care possible and because we have faith that they'l; use what they know to cure your dog. If non-vets can do better, I'm sure they'd be out of a job.

  • 

    sim777 on 04/05/2017 - 08:46

    Calm down mate - there are rules regarding re-dispensing medications after a certain period of time which requires you have a recheck with the veterinarian in case the clinical signs can be caused by a separate underlying aetiology. In regards to the ear infection it is gold standard to perform culture and sensitivity testing to assess which antibiotic coverage is appropriate. Skipping this and prescribing 2nd or 3rd line drugs that are usually reserved for the refractory infections can make a simple ear infection much more difficult to control.

    Sorry you've had a bad experience but you clearly don't appreciate the vets that you've visited and maybe they haven't explained to you properly why certain tests are recommended.

    • 

      minniethemoocher on 05/05/2017 - 07:03

      How come whenever myself or my family members go to the doctors for an infection they never perform culture or sensitivity testing? In fact I wish they would sometimes because they just keep throwing meds at it instead of checking what they infection is. Probably because the gold standard is expensive and unnecessary in humans and a money making exercise in vets.

      • 

        FirstNameLastName on 05/05/2017 - 18:44

        with pets.. i'd suggest broad spectrum would be initiated immediately whilst results are coming in for culture.. then they can narrow in the type of antibiotic if needed.

        humans prob have a lot more research/stats behind what works for what situation.
        also, we can speak, therefore we can say what we are feeling and where.. (ie for UTI.. specific pain in specific area.. quick onset etc) therefore maybe doc has much more certainty. i assume they would culture for anything worrying.

        docs prob do over prescribe to save litigation.. and because patients come in with an agenda to get them.
        but then again there is recent pressure to pull back on tests etc.

        anyway.. unsure how/if you'd want a culture taken from say, deep lung tissue.. or your frontal sinuses.. or some of the 'downstairs' areas :)

      • 

        sim777 on 08/05/2017 - 12:59

        That's the main issue - they throw meds at you. if one doesnt work and then you go back they will either try another one or then consider C&S. yes gold standard is expensive but unnecessary? Maybe in your eyes but don't call it a money making exercise when something is regarded as gold standard protocol.

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  2jzzzz on 04/05/2017 - 04:42

  I get my script from the vet, scan it and order from www.theanimalpharmacy.com.au

  Theyre cheap and never had to send them the physical script.

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  sim777 on 04/05/2017 - 08:47

  OP - yes you can get a script for majority of drugs if you can find then in the proper concentration ect. Your vet most likely will charge a script fee which tends to be around $17-20? I think it all ends up being around the same price whether you get a script written for a human pharmacist or the drugs are obtained from your vets

  • 

    sim777 on 04/05/2017 - 08:49

    edit: do your research regarding how much your script from the vet will cost + the difference in price for the same drugs at your chemist - see for yourself whether it's beneficial

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  Sensiekatie on 04/05/2017 - 10:10

  We recently had an animal go the vet and they had run out if the medication it required. She gave us a script and we got it at the chemist (think she just used the human equivalent). It is possible for medications that are available/same as human.

  Some chemists have pet treatments, so not sure if they can do the scripts for the pet only stuff.

  I did find pet pharmacies when searching the latest medication one dog got put on last week. It is Way cheaper elsewhere with them then our vet. They can write a script and you can get it elsewhere and shoparound. Charlie may be in n it for the rest of his life, soneed go find the best price in the future.

  When I was much younger, it was the same thing - as an RN I recognised all the medications ons listed for various surgeries even etc. now they have "invented" animal medications with different names and charge a fortune for them!

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  goosegog on 04/05/2017 - 13:21

  Yes, you certainly can. Our poor old boy ( Great Dane/ bull mastiff) who finally went to the big doggie park in the sky aged 14, last November - often had scripts for Tramadol. We would get the genetic version from Priceline for a fraction of the price.
  Also will admit both hubby& I going to our G.P. to get scripts ( as we too occasionally take the product ) to save on vet costs & to keep our boy pain free. It was never questioned as we have both used it for a long time, surprised they didn't comment on our usage going up though!

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  Findo on 04/05/2017 - 14:31

  Off label prescriptions for diazepam for SWIM or my pet hamster seems pretty cheap when considering it can be eaten by humans for the same effect.

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  Fink on 28/09/2017 - 02:37

  OK, now from a vet's perspective. I feel we are easy targets for people to rant about getting ripped off when all we are doing is battling to maintain a reasonable income as a reward for the long hours and stress involved in pursuing the profession we love. Do people rant about a plumber's or electrician's $1,000 fee to fit a new tap or power socket or the $120-150/hr for a mechanic, whether it's an apprentice or not?

  1. A vet practice is not a charity. It must run as a business and make a profit to pay the multitude of staff, pay for expensive equipment, pay the lease and other running costs of the business or it will close it's doors. This money has to come from somewhere. An online pharmacy has what? A website and if you're lucky, a warehouse and a few lowly paid staff to process and pack your order.

  So when we make less money off drugs to price-match online sources and pharmacies for acute treatment drugs, our other professional fees will need to increase to generate the lost income. So it's swings and roundabouts. We are already the lowest paid profession but with one of the highest costs per practitioner. Try booking a lawyer who has nearly zero infrastructure and running costs for an appointment and compare the hourly fee with a vet. So no, I don't feel we are ripping you off. We are just breaking down the true cost of providing the service into a user pay scheme made up of consultation, dispensing, surgery, hospitalisation and other fees.

  1. A pharmacy is also not a good comparison to your vet. Again, they have very little equipment costs, just staff costs, usually made mostly up of unqualified personnel and often just one duty pharmacist. They buy their drugs at usually much cheaper prices as any animal registered drugs have a much smaller market so are more expensive to approve for use and so are more costly than the human equivalent. Pharmacies will not sell animal specific medication. Please don't compare the price you got your equivalent meds for when they may have been based on a heavily discounted PBS price.

  2. A vet caries a large and expensive inventory of drugs which caries a business opportunity cost (=the interest you could earn by putting this money in the bank) plus the cost of wastage due to the disposal of over-dated drugs. This enables you, the client, to have the convenience and safety of being able to put your pet immediately on the appropriate medication without having to then traipse around looking for a pharmacy (do you want to leave your pet in a hot car on the way home from the vet?) that carries the medication (by no means guaranteed) required. For instance, eye and ear ointments used in dogs and cats are not used in humans, as well as quite a few antibiotics and many other specialist medications.

  3. As a profession under the constant scrutiny of regulatory authorities, we have obligations to maintain clinical records for all cases whether we dispense or prescribe. This is not just for drugs that may be abused but for all prescription (S4) drugs

  4. Time is money and a practice costs many hundreds of dollars per hour to operate so that 5-10 minutes it takes to write a prescription must be billed out. We must review the case history, write the prescription and either print or send to the client. So expect to pay a prescription fee from your vet and factor this into the overall cost of an online order.

  5. I think we should break down the argument into 2 scenarios:

  a)The short duration treatment for acute cases treated at your vet. I think it is fair to charge appropriate fees to dispense these medications to reflect the time taken to diagnose and discuss the treatment of the case, the use and often how to administer the medication as well as the holding cost. I don't feel it is fair to compare the cost of getting 5 days antibiotics from your vet vs the pharmacy and you aren't about to wait for your online order to come in to start treatment.

  b) Medications to treat chronic disease. This is the scenario most people are comparing vet prices to that of online pharmacies and like most bricks and mortar type businesses, we are under constant pressure from these online suppliers. Yes, they can get massive bulk discounts, yes they have very low overheads. So personally, I am meeting the challenge head-on as it's no point ignoring this trend as it will only progress, so I am very close to price matching these online pharmacies once postage is included. And it's far cheaper than if the prescription writing fee is included. This keeps the clients happy that they can source these drugs at a reasonable price and I can properly monitor the drug's use. It is actually far more work monitoring prescriptions than it is dispensing these drugs directly so I think overall it is a win-win. So by all means ask your vet if they can sharpen their pencil on those chronic medications and if they are smart, they will likely oblige.

  • 

    Gravy on 28/09/2017 - 09:49

    Thanks for your detailed explanation of your reasonings behind the charges, I understand that it is a profession involving a huge amount of training. Keep in mind that this is a bargain website so people are going to want to save money wherever possible so I don't see my questions as a rant but rather a discussion.

    Personally with regards to cost of other services like mechanics/plumbers/electricians etc, yes I do often question costings as there can be huge variations in the speed/quality/cost of work.

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  jason andrade on 11/10/2018 - 08:58

  This was a pretty useful thread - just adding some updated information as of a year later

  • You can get your vet to write a prescription and fill it elsewhere
  • This includes online stores - don't forget to include the cost of deliver ($7-9 or more depending on the medication) plus the cost of sending your original prescription ($1-2)
  • I've been dealing with Green Cross as a vet and found them excellent, honest and up front. They charge $25 to write a prescription and have pointed out that legally and ethically they need to see the animal every 6 months to monitor their condition.
  • They have a healthy pets plus program (around $480 a year) which helps discount consults and medication
  • I've found petceutics online is still about the cheapest and petchemist and petscripts may be reasonable alternatives

  Most of the information on this thread is pretty spot on but just reiterating the following:

  • There is no 'free market' for drugs - it's all tied into a regulatory framework of some kind. The framework for humans allows for a lot of subsidies (which aren't available to animals)
  • There's a difference between a 'drug' and a 'pharmaceutical' if you can use those terms.

  The drug might be a specific chemical compound (that is exactly the same in a variety of different suppliers). However each of the suppliers may have different marketing, supply arrangements and more importantly for your animals, ways of packaging the drug. e.g. some will use sorbitol based compounds which have no issues on humans but significant negative effects on animals. This is one reason you want to be extremely careful about trying to equate and use human pharmaceuticals on animals. You can miss a small detail and the side effects are going to cause bigger problems than the drug was intended to fix.

  I also liked the post by Fink. If a vet sees the market and at least tries to match it I have no problems paying the extra - it's paid off simply in convenience. If something is within 10-15% I'm likely to just get it from the vet. Where there is a 50-100% difference..

  When you're treating a chromic condition and it's a quality of life issue (i.e towards the end of the expected life of the animal) and you're talking about a $40-$50 per 2-3 months difference, you do start adding this up.