Written prescriptions – Written prescriptions are available on request
You may obtain relevant veterinary medicinal products from your veterinary surgeon or ask for a repeat prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgery or pharmacy.
There is a written prescription fee of £30 for the first item (and £23 for each additional item if prescribed at the same time) to cover the time and skill required to provide this service. Just as doctors in private practice charge for prescriptions and solicitors charge to write letters, vets must charge for their professional expertise and time.
Our written prescriptions for long term medications are usually valid for 1-3months.
Clinical Assessments for prescription medications
Veterinary surgeon may only prescribe relevant veterinary medicinal products to animals under his or her care following a clinical assessment.
It is a requirement of our regulatory body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) that animals must be under our care and examined regularly in order for medications to be prescribed. The general policy of this practice is to re-assess any animal requiring repeat prescriptions of relevant veterinary medicinal products every 3-6months.
The charge for a clinical assessment with a veterinary surgeon is £56. If only prescription antiparasitic treatments are required, the cost of this consultation is £20.
Please note that under the regulations set by our governing body, the RCVS, we cannot dispense medicines containing antibiotics (including eye/ ear preparations and oral tablets) on repeat prescription and we must perform an in-person assessment every time we prescribe these.
Cost of obtaining medicines at a Veterinary Practice vs an Online Pharmacy
Because we are fortunate to have the National Health Service for humans, we are often unaware of the cost of medical care, equipment and medication. It is expensive for anyone to keep and dispense veterinary medicines under the strict guidelines that are set out in legislation. Setting up a veterinary practice, buying and maintaining the correct environment for storage of drugs, and training staff are all costs that must be met by the sale of the medicines. Online suppliers can buy in far larger quantities than individual veterinary practices and the cost of their overheads for a warehouse vs a veterinary practice are must lower. In addition, their bulk buying results in much greater manufacturer discounts than veterinary practices receive.
All veterinary medicines have a shelf-life and once the expiry date is reached the medicines must be discarded. The vet has already paid for those drugs and so needs a pricing structure for the medicines that covers the cost of wastage. Vets must keep in stock a wide range of medicines, including those that are needed in an emergency, and very expensive drugs that are rarely used. Again, these must all be paid for, even if only one dose has been used by the time of the expiry date.
However, it isn’t always cheaper to buy prescription medicines from an online source rather than your veterinary surgeon. If the medicines are very cheap this should ring alarm bells and you should take extra care to ensure the website belongs to a reputable, UK-based organisation. There are many websites selling counterfeit medicines which could be dangerous to give your pet.
Please note, if you buy medications online we are unable to claim these for you as part of an insurance claim.