An insight into the cost of Veterinary Drugs
I am here to help you the pet sitter and whether that means sharing my knowledge with you, or giving you tips to save you money, I thought that there is something that you should know about. If you are a veterinary nurse or veterinary receptionist, you will be aware of these facts.
wDid you know that as vets there are a number of rules governing our use of veterinary drugs? A system operates whereby we cannot dispense human medication to your pet (even though it is usually much cheaper).
wAny use of a human medication used by a vet has to be justified. This can be in an instance where an animal equivalent of a drug does not exist, such as certain heart drugs.
wThe rulings concerning vet drugs have changed recently and pharmacies are now able to dispense many of the drugs that we prescribe. Prescription only medication or POM require a prescription from your vet if you are to obtain these from a pharmacy.
wYour vet cannot charge for the prescription due to a new ruling in place since October 2005. It does mean a loss in revenue for your vet, so obviously competition between vets and pharmacists is rife.
See an accompanying article which makes for some interesting reading
wOn a personal level, I find that making a prescription out for a client to collect their drugs from a pharmacy can have its benefits in saving you some money, but your local pharmacy may not always stock the drug you require and you receive an explanation from the human pharmacist, not your vet on how to give drugs and when they should start which may not always be as comprehensive as we are likely to give.
wThe choice is yours however and I hope that you choose the best option for your circumstance. It is always best to choose proper veterinary flea and worming preparations rather than pet shop or supermarket varieties and these are available online for a lot less than you pay at a veterinary surgery. For online UK pharmacies see:
Bestpet Pharmacy
Vetscriptions
Vetmedsplus
Pet drugs online
Petvet Care
Pet Dispensary
Vet Medic
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