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?!

Our cat needs expensive daily tablets costing £100 a month from the vet.
Lo and behold after some discussion, they now issue a prescription for THREE months worth (£12 for the issue of the script) and I order the tablets from vet UK for £46.

😂🐕💕

My cat has feline asthma. He's gets a prescription from the vet. I then take it to my chemist and pay for his flixotide and salbutamol inhalers.
My other cat is on felimazole (thyroxine) I get a prescription from the vet then upload it to petdrugsonline. I save loads.

A human pharmacy can dispense a veterinary prescription. It's a private prescription so nothing to do with the NHS.

Your vet may charge you for writing the prescription. The pharmacy will charge a fee for handling the prescription plus the cost of the drugs. This may or may not be cheaper than buying directly from the vets. Online vets and pharmacies can also dispense against a vets prescription.

For long-term conditions/ regular medicines the vet can write a prescription that allows a certain number of repeats (so you don't have to pay for them to write the prescription every time) it will depend on the condition and often it needs to be reviewed or how often its is likely to change.

Yeah, you can go to a human pharmacy, they may not have what you want in stock, they may not have it in the right format, and you are of course paying for it.

On top, you will have to pay a consultation fee (unless the vet has seen your animal within the last 6 months and is happy to prescribe without seeing again), and pay for the prescription itself.

I have had some clients do this, and experience difficulties with high street pharmacies (one lady in scotland was shouted at! I still don't understand why!) but generally it's fine.

Most people use the online pharmacies as their prices are much lower due to higher buying power than your vet has.

Worth keeping in mind though, the fewer sundries the vet sells ie medications, the higher they will have to price consults, procedures etc. So taking some of the business from the vets might save in teh short term but it wont save you in the long run.

Also bear in mind that some insurance companies count prescription fees as admin charges, so you might find you pay more than you would if you bought direct from the vet. ( stupid of them as they’d make a saving ) not sure which company offhand.

Veterinary Assistant in the U.K. just means fully qualified vet who doesn’t own the practice.

If they were antibiotic eye drops they are maxitrol that are also human. Antihistamines are also piriton which they charged me £22.00 for 14!!! Always worthwhile looking into your pet prescription but no a human pharmacy will not sell you ANY medication if you tell them it is for a pet.

My horse is on regular meds and my vet will match an online price providing it's not less than cost to.them ( which sometimes it is by a couple of £). I still have to pay the prescription charge but it's a lot less hassle than going to an online pharmacy and if I'm out that way I can collect and save the postage cost. My prescription lasts 6 months but the vet is required to see him.every 6 months to continue the prescription anyway.

There are an awful lot of people on here “talking bollocks”, why comment on something when you absolutely do NOT know the answer ?!?

I take my dog’s prescription into Asda and have it dispensed every month, I can’t take it to Tesco as they are not licensed to dispense pet prescriptions, so the actual CORRECT answer is that you CAN take a pet’s prescription to SOME high street chemists !

You can get a prescription from your Vet (they usually charge for this, it used to be free) and use it with an online pet pharmacy.
TBH, I don't think Vets are necessarily profiteering on medicine sales - they just don't get through the volume that an online pharmacy will.

All those posters who are saying no..... have you actually done it? Because yes you can. I have done it. You pay privately for the drugs and you need a vet prescription.
If your dog is on long term med you need to shop around.
My old dog was on a human drug. I tried a few ways. Once i took it to the chemist in tesco. Then i used an online vet but it actually worked out cheaper to get it direct from the vet because then i didn't have to pay for a prescription.

I got mine from tesco

Not much more hassle. I brought my cat’s prescription home, went online to find the cheapest pet pharmacy, selected the drug, photographed and uploaded the prescription, paid and the drugs were with me in 2 days. Process took me about 5 mins.

Well obviously. Same applies as to whether the vet has it in stock. But there are lots of online pharmacies - one of them will have it.

If it's a controlled drug (my pet was on gabapentin) you have to physically post the prescription

Maybe it’s an individual shop option then, ours is quite small, but it doesn’t alter the fact that you most certainly can get pet prescriptions in the high street …

I think it would be fine to get from a high street pharmacy, as they will be able to guarantee the drugs have been kept and delivered under required conditions to keep the drugs active components effective. If they are a chain they will likely be able to bulk buy as a company at a much reduced rate compared to what veterinary practices need to pay, and therefore be able to sell it cheaper to the public without selling for less than they had to pay for it themselves.

Be careful using online wholesalers. I suspect the reason they can sell so much cheaper is that they store them and deliver them in ways, which don’t guarantee keeping the temperature optimal for drug efficiency often sending drugs that must stay in refrigerator temps just in a cool bag for example.

As others have said, you can, though you have to pay. Our local chemist when I was growing up had a drawer labelled 'veterinary medication' behind the counter.

No vet and human medicine are seperate

vet nurse here.
Written prescriptions from vet - purchase a written script direct from the vet then do your price research and purchase from a licensed pet drug pharmacy who will require either the actual written script or a scanned/emailed copy.
Veterinary surgery's have to by law order their meds directly from a veterinary wholesaler , the consumer has the right to buy them from either vet or online pharmacy, most drugs work out cheaper due to the pharmacies buying power , they also may buy up quantities of shorter dated products direct from manufacturers.
Written prescriptions to human pharmacies - if the drug the vet prescribes is a human drug because there is no licenced animal alternative available they can supply you with a written prescription which you can ask a human pharmacist to supply .
You can only use the human drug when there is no licenced animal alternative , it is not a choice ie buying it because its cheaper.
Vets charge for written prescriptions as there is work involved in the production, sometimes a lot more than just counting the drug from their current pharmacy stock.

I have done this for my dog. However it is a private prescription and not subsidised by nhs. It was for tramadol.

Your dog can get prescriptions filled at the chemist if he is over 60 or on certain benefits.
He must tick and sign the back of the prescription.

Sorry I couldn't help myself😅😅😅

Seriously, some local pharmacist should be able to order them in for you. They wouldn't necessarily have in stock or be any cheaper as they would have to buy from the wholesaler or veterinary supplier. You must have a current prescription from your vet to purchase animal drugs from a chemist or online veterinary supplier.
Be careful which on line supplier you use.
Also, remember that animal tablets are usually based on weight etc.
Our dog is on various tablets but having previously worked in a vet practice, I wouldn't buy his meds anywhere else other than his own vets.
I no longer live in the area where I worked in the vets.
Look out for counterfeits.
A certain flea control company (prescription) nearly went bankrupt due to the knock offs that flooded the online market several years ago.
Hope you dog is OK.