Is it true you can take a vet's prescription to a normal chemist and save money?

[Laiste]

Just that.

Someone has told me that you can ask a vet to give you a written prescription (for medicines which you have to administer yourself of course - pills, cream ect) and rather than buy it from the vet (£££) you can go and order it from a chemist and just pay the prescription fee.

You still have to pay the vet's consultation fee obvs, for the time and expertise.

If this is a thing why isn't it better known?
Or is it just me that didn't know? 😫
Or are they talking bollocks?!

Approaching this for the first time is a bit confusing.

One poster has said the vet won't know/wont be forthcoming what other suppliers will charge (meaning you'd have to ask for (and pay for) the paper prescription to be written out, take it away and research online yourself) while another has said her vet knew exactly which meds were cheaper online and which weren't and sorted her out accordingly.

I guess you have to bite the bullet and just ask your own vet.

The pure answer to my OP mind you is ''no, it's bollocks, because you can't buy purely animal medicines from a human chemist''.

Some things yes, especially ointments and eye drops which are generally used in both.

Long term common meds are generally cheaper from online pharmacies - as they're cheaper than the wholesale prices charged to the vets... DH is a vet, we'd get anything long term from an online pharmacy because even with staff discounts it was substantially cheaper.

Vet practices are required by law to buy drugs they hold from regulated wholesalers - they can't buy from the online pharmacies...

OH!

So you'd have to go and ask around your own local pharmacies as well.

No wonder so many people just pay £££ at the vets for the meds. It's not simple at all!

My (now deceased) dog was on a prescription painkiller that I got from a human chemist. I remember one assistant read his script and went "canine - is that his nick name?" No, canine means dog... He was pn the same pa

Given relative drug development funding, the vast majority of veterinary drugs were developed for humans then adopted into veterinary use. The specific "veterinary" things like metacam are failed human drugs - developed because the scientists thought humans would tolerate more specific cox 2 inhibitors better than broader ones like Ibuprofen but it turns out we (mostly) don't and dogs (and horses) are better off with the specific drugs. The researchers were relieved to find some use rather than deliberately looking for a vet specific drug.

Never done it, but agree some pharmacies do - mainly because I was in one once and saw a member of staff open a drawer and it was full of veterinary medication.

I think it depends on the medication.

My dog was on human meds for a certain problem and one them vet couldn't/wouldn't prescribe so we for a private prescription and sent it to Weldricks chemist online and they sent us the meds.

Sorry, phone playing up

Dog was on the same painkillers as my dad (at that point as needed, not daily) and one Christmas we had to borrow dad's pills as we'd left the dogs at home.

With my horse, there is significant savings getting a script from the vet and then filling online. Instead of paying $2+ a tablet, online (including script and delivery) is around 80c a tablet.

The other thing I do is my local pet store price match to online prices. So I google what I'm going to buy, find the cheapest price and they match it. I got a bag of dog food for $94 instead of $165, so it's worth it. Definitely worth it for flea and tick treatments.

Our vet was not very helpful about just doing us a prescription. When they finally agreed it was on the understand thatthey will only prescribe smaller amounts and won't do repeat prescriptions without seeing her.

In other words, if we don't buy from them, we need to pay them for extra consultations and extra prescriptions. Even with that, it still works out significantly cheaper to buy online.

I genuinely feel bad that I'm making use of their skills but then buying the meds (which presumably are the "easy money") elsewhere but we're talking hundreds of pounds difference and it's taken us years to find something that works.

Ok. So it's not bollocks, but you need to do your research.

Next time i'm in our (village) chemist i'll ask if they would fulfill a vet's script for non human med.

Next time i'm in Boots i'll ask them also. I've tried to google it but nothing comes up.

You can do most of your research in advance. Anything long term and common will be available online from a pharmacy. Anything topical (eyes/skin) might well be available quickly from a human pharmacy and if commonly used in humans is likely to be slightly cheaper because the human pharmacies will use more and therefore get better volume discounts even at private prescription prices.

Anything obscure (our dog had unusual antibiotics after a culture and sensitivity test identified one possible abx for a tail wound) will be a phone around local pharmacies job as the vets won't necessarily have it in stock. The vet/practice staff should be fine about doing this.

With other unusual stuff vets might well phone around other local practices if they're out is something required urgently (most pharmacies orders come next day). It might also mean that something like snake antivenom is only held by 1 practice in an area.

I work in a supermarket pharmacy and we do vet prescriptions all the time.
Our charge is generally cost price plus 20% so it depends on the drug as to how expensive the script is.
We can only dispense them if the drug prescribed is also used for humans, we can’t dispense animal only drugs as we can’t order them from our wholesaler.
We regularly dispense insulin and eye drops, we also get a repeat prescription for a asthma inhalers for a horse and I always wonder how the hell they administer them!

I use Animed online where you upload your prescriptions and they send you stuff in the post - certainly cheaper

Yeah i'd feel quite awkward too. But as you say, poss. a massive difference. And that different could mean the difference between affording the ongoing treatment or not in some cases.

Our dog had cataract surgery earlier this year and at first was on several different types of drops.

The specialist vet advised us to get them from a pharmacy with prescriptions she’d issue as they were all “human” ones. One she told us was £52 to purchase from them, we paid £4.80 at the chemist.

We pay £17 for a vet prescription which can be used four times although when he was initially on a lot of drops we weren’t charged for the actual prescription. He’s only on one type now and I took his prescription into Tesco last night and will collect the drops later. It’s not just Tesco though, I’ve used Boots, Lloyds and a few independents too.

Just an aside to give an example of how much we’re overcharged for animal items.
Our dog is diabetic so has twice daily insulin injections. We have a special reusable device called a Vetpen which contains a changeable insulin cartridge and you just screw a needle onto the end each time. Our regular vet charges £67 for 100 of the Vetpen needles (50 days worth), I found that I could buy the same at an online pet supplies store for £37. A good saving you’d think.
However, I’ve now found that there are the exact type of needles available for human use and they’re £4 for 100. I ordered a box and there’s no difference whatsoever apart from the price!

Human medicines
You are not allowed to prescribe a human medicine simply because it is cheaper than using an authorised veterinary medicine.
Human medicines and veterinary medicines containing the same active substance may not be interchangeable.
www.gov.uk/guidance/the-cascade-prescribing-unauthorised-medicines

Pharmacies that are registered to dispense animal medicines can do so on presentation of a veterinary prescription. They can't dispense a human medication for a veterinary prescription. A vet can't refuse to issue a prescription just because they stock the medicine themselves: if the animal-owner wants to get the veterinary drug from a registered pharmacy they can ask for a prescription.

Depends on your vet a bit.
One of my DDogs is on daily medication. I pay £12 for a prescription that lasts for 6 months. The meds are half the price at an online pet drug website and the vet only asks for an annual check up. Still works out way cheaper and it's what the vet recommended.

I get a written prescription from the vet for my dog, and take it to Boots. Much cheaper, and never had an issue.

Don't feel awkward. Most vets will charge you a fee for the prescription (rightly so) so it's not remotely cheeky to ask.

I used Animed, sending them the email from my vet for my horse’s daily meds, saving £50 every couple of months. Didn’t know you could use a bog standard pharmacy, but it was a specific horse med. I do have tramadol in the cupboard from the vet, had gabapentin previously and was told to use paracetamol for the dog-got caught out on the latter at vast expense and told the vet he was outrageous to put that on prescription.

My vet charges £18 for a prescription which I can use with an online pharmacy. I do find that online purchases are not very reliable and items don't turn up on time. When you add the prescription charge, the saving for me would be small so I'm staying with my vet

I haven't fully digested all the replies, but you can get a prescription from the vet then order meds online.

My horse had a box of drugs a month, they were £90 a box. My vet gave me a prescription for 3 months worth which cost £12. I then ordered online and the boxes were £45 each. You should be able to google and find out the price then ask the vet for a prescription. It should generally be a lot cheaper doing it this way.

Sorry that should say they were £90 a box when purchased directly from the vet, but £45 a box online with a prescription (so a massive saving).

I think our dog is on similar drops, we ordered through vets and it was about £100 for a tiny bottle, husband did a bit of research and found he got get it from boots for about £10.

Yes you can buy animal meds from pharmacies, they may not have what you need in stock but mine certainly does sell them. You need a valid prescription and it private so shop around for prices, they vary. Online is normally cheaper