what does your vet charge for a prescription?

[allylou]

Just interested to know what people get charged and how many still buy prescribed meds online rather from their own vet.

My vet charges £10 for a prescription - so far i have only ever bought prescribed meds from the vets but after seeing the mark up on advocate in the vets (£44 for a pack of six for a 10 -25 kg dog - online i've seen the same item for just over £25  ) next time i will ask for a prescription.

Also interested to know from anyone else who does do this how straight forward it is to buy online

[Mybuddies]

Think my vet charges approx £7 - £7.50, however if you are ordering more than one item Eg a pack of advocate and say a spray frontline  my vet charges 2x prescriptions IYSWIM   

And the other thing to watch is if you order 2 of one item they may well charge you 2 x presciptions

The last time I did a stock up got charged about 5 prescriptions from my vet

I was speaking to Hyperdrug (aka Canine chemists) about this and they said some vets do this and some will only charge one prescription for the whole lot

So I find the best thing is obviously only order the v.expensive things from online, its not worth upsetting your vet for saving a fiver 

Its relatively easy to order via the presciption set up, you ring up with your order, then mail your prescriptions, they do not despatch until they have received them and checked them, I received goods in possibly 1-3 days after initial phone order,  thats my experience with hyperdrug.

[Eve]

My vet used to charge £8.50 so if it is long term medication, I always asked him to put on for  3 to 6 months supply. The vet pharmacies give big discounts for larger orders so it was more economical.

Personally, the only reason I feel they charge for prescriptions is because they make thier money on the meds.

Eve

[ladylola]

At the end of the day though they are running a business with staff to be paid.

The upkeep of the premises, equipment etc.  If they didn't make money from meds they might not be able to do this.

I know some vets charge extortionate prices for stuff and some are better than others with mark ups.

[Saffaroo]

Our vet never charges for a prescription - but then it is a bit different here and lots of things are available freely over the counter anyway; I do get Milbemax online as we can't buy it here but I get it from Australia and no prescription is required, as least not at the pharmacy I use.  I have bought some Frontline vials online, again with no prescription, but that was only because our vet had run out ...  Its really a case of searching around to find a supplier' it's swings and roundabouts I find, as we buy lots of Alopron (sandfly treatment) from our vets who can supply it at a fraction of the price it costs online, but he must bulk buy.. 

Buying online I always want to know the expiry date of an item and beware generic preparations 

[Mudmagnets]

When I had Suzie, the vets used to charge £12.50 a time and used to write in red that it was not repeatable - charming.

[sarah25]

£20 at ours.

[Toni-UK]

Prescriptions are FREE at our vets which is fab as every thing else they do/sell is so expensive 

[Rats and Dogs]

We charge £8, and also allow people with animals on long term meds to have repeats for up to 6 months on the one prescription. However, I know our bosses are looking at ways of trying to bring our prices down to encourage people to get their meds from the vet rather than online, and as Julie (Ladylola) says, they have to meet their overheads and pay staff, etc, so I can see it from both sides.

[Countrygirl]

At the end of the day though they are running a business with staff to be paid.

The upkeep of the premises, equipment etc.  If they didn't make money from meds they might not be able to do this.

I know some vets charge extortionate prices for stuff and some are better than others with mark ups.

The Vets where we take Ellie are wonderful.  I always get any medication she needs from them because I would be devastated if they went out of business.

[allylou]

thanks for the replies - there seems to be be a big variation in the charges. Like others have said i do understand the need to charge for prescriptions and for the mark up on items to cover their own outgoings but i'm starting to think my own vets have lost the plot. I was looking at another thread about vaccination charges - Marley's booster yesterday cost £37 which seems to put us in the high end of the average cost.

We charge £8, and also allow people with animals on long term meds to have repeats for up to 6 months on the one prescription. However, I know our bosses are looking at ways of trying to bring our prices down to encourage people to get their meds from the vet rather than online,

that sounds much fairer Fiona- i wish our practice would do the same. Is it a small practice or part of a larger corporation? I only ask as my vet was until recently a small, locally owned one but is now part of a large nationwide corporation and i wonder if that has pushed up prices

[Rats and Dogs]

that sounds much fairer Fiona- i wish our practice would do the same. Is it a small practice or part of a larger corporation? I only ask as my vet was until recently a small, locally owned one but is now part of a large nationwide corporation and i wonder if that has pushed up prices

It's a small practice, there are only 3 branches, and the other 2 are up North, mainly dealing with farm animals.

[BabyB]

Last time I got Advocate from Tom (the vet) I asked if I could get a prespription for it as it was cheaper online.
So Katie had her booster yesterday, and I asked for a prescription for Advocate.  Tom asked how much could I get it for and what website - I said I think it was around £36 for 6 vials 10-25kg (petmed or vetsuk).
So, he had a look and said to save me the trouble, he'd let me have it for what I could get it online.
I paid him £29 !!!!!!
Don't think he was going to charge me for a prescription if I needed it either.

[Rats and Dogs]

I think we'll all be registering with your vet Tom soon!

[BabyB]

I think we'll all be registering with your vet Tom soon!

He is brilliant.  I thanked him for answering his mobile phone on the Sunday morning that Morgan  died and he said no problem at all 

I wish he could be cloned as he is such a nice vet.  He really cares about animals and has an excellent manner about him