Recently I wrote a post about the cost of prescription drugs for horses (How to keep prescription drug costs for horses under control). One of my suggestions was to get your vet to write prescriptions which you can have filled at one of the myriad online pharmacies.
But what if your vet will only fill the prescriptions themselves? There’s been a recen thread on the Chronicle of the Horse Forums that talks about the pros and cons of having your vet supply your horses drugs.
I asked about getting a prescrption for Adequan and explained that I can’t do the shots at the clinic because I’d have to rent a truck/trailer to haul down each time (and the barn owner is perfectly capable and does a good job with IM shots) and she agreed to write a prescription and let me do my own only if I bought it from them!
Apparently this problem is common.
I have complained to my vet about his drug prices. Everyone in his office just shrugs at me. But his mark ups are out of sight! $65/vile of Adequan. $95/1K bottle of Isoxuprine. $38/100ml bottle of Dex which is 7 bucks at valley vet. I am perfectly happy to pay more for drugs from the vet but I mean really….three and four times more than they are for sale everywhere else. I think it is really a bad business decision. The mark up should be just low enough to make me never get my drugs somewhere else. They have called in a prescription for me so I could include it in my Smartpak. I am going to investigate whether it is legal for them to refuse. I don’t like saying things like that to my vet though as in “it is illegal for you to refuse”. I mean we should like and respect one another…
As my vet said once, chiding me for buying cheap isoxuprine from the barn manager, “You may save a few bucks, but she’s not coming in the middle of the night to save your horse.”
the main reason why I switched to the vet I currently use is because I got tired of getting brought to the cleaners for simple Rx stuff (um try 600.00 for a loading dose of Adequan!) and then them refusing to write a script so I can understand the OP’s frustration at the same time.
This is one of my pet peeves too. My (former) vet has a ridiculous markup on some of her meds….
$100/1 bottle Isoxsuprine (~$30 at Valley Vet)
$100/1 bottle Acetyl-D-Glucosamine (~$50 at Heartland)
I tried to get a box of Adequan from my horse’s Oregon vet and they wanted to charge me $900!!!! I was like… holy ridiculous mark up! Called my local vet and got it for $340, and they even shipped it for me.
My vet doesn’t have a problem with writing a ‘script. He does charge $20 for a year long prescription but most of the time I save that much right off the bat. I do buy drugs from him when I don’t have them on hand and can’t them quickly enough. SMZs? I try to have them around, but I’ll pay the convenience price if I need them that day. Same with most other drugs.
I’ve spoken to my veterinary practice about some of their charges because I probably would buy from them if the prices were close enough. In some cases I’m buying the drug for less than my vet pays because I buy from the large on-line pharmaceutical companies who are able to pass along their volume discounts.
So what are the reasons why some people believe in buying only from their vet?
I discussed this with my vet a while ago. My vet also being my best friend in the world. She explained that she did the work up, the exams, the films, etc. for me and my horse and that because of the time she put in, I should get the meds from her rather than a discount house. She obviously makes money from the sale of the meds and also it helps them keep tabs on what is going into their clients’ horses in the way of medications. She can look up my horse’s record any time and see that he got a full Adequan series on such a date and therefore should/shouldn’t get more now. ETC. Also, when you buy from a discount house, you have no way of knowing if the drug has expired.
As my vet said once, chiding me for buying cheap isoxuprine from the barn manager, “You may save a few bucks, but she’s not coming in the middle of the night to save your horse.”
I guess my feeling is that I’m already paying my vet for the work up, the exams and the films. Actually, my vet would like me to be able to afford the medications that my horse needs and has never tried to make me feel guilty about buying drugs elsewhere. My small animal vet goes even further: she dispenses only emergency meds — she actually has done the research and recommends the least expensive place to buy meds and phones in the prescription with no ‘script fee.
The American Veterinary Medical Association says vets should provide prescriptions if asked.
Quoted from that site:
“Q: A client asked me to write a prescription rather than dispense a prescription drug out of my clinic. What are my rights and responsibilities?
A: The AVMA developed a position statement to guide your actions. The AVMA encourages veterinarians to honor client requests to prescribe rather than dispense a drug when a veterinarian-client-patient relationship exists and the veterinarian has determined that the drug is medically necessary. If the veterinarian does not have a veterinarian-client-patient relationship or does not believe the drug is medically indicated, the veterinarian should not write the prescription.If the veterinarian has determined that dispensing the drug from the clinic may be best for the patient or client, the veterinarian may wish to explain the reasons for this to the client. If, however, the client prefers a prescription to a dispensed drug, veterinarians should honor client requests to prescribe rather than dispense a drug. The client has the option of filling a prescription at any pharmacy.
Some state regulations require a veterinarian to provide a prescription rather than dispense a drug when requested by the client. None of these laws require the veterinarian to write a prescription in the absence of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship or if the drug is not medically indicated. Veterinarians should ascertain state requirements by contacting the Board of Veterinary Medicine in the state(s) in which they are licensed. Also, depending upon the state, Board of Pharmacy regulations may also apply to veterinarians as handlers of prescription drugs. Therefore, veterinarians should make themselves aware of any pertinent Board of Pharmacy regulations in their state. State veterinary medical associations work on your behalf to monitor state issues that affect veterinary medicine and may be a very helpful resource.”
So, what do all of you think?