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?!

We get our dog's glaucoma drops from our local chemist, treated as a private prescription. He has a very non-human name and we don't know his DOB so despite doing this quite a long time there's usually an amusing conversation.

We used to get a prescription from the vet and get cat insulin (Caninsulin) online, worked out a lot cheaper , there are a few companies out there that will supply and deliver in refrigerated cartons.
the cat has now been changed to “human “ insulin which the vet can’t supply
The vet writes the prescription and I take it to our high street chemist and pay the charges.
I did try to find out if I could buy the “human “ insulin online but it’s not really possible

It's actually true. My vet was trying to source Cabergolin (I think that's what it's called) for one of my pets. They couldn't get it quickly enough so phoned around pharmacies to see if they had any in stock. Didn't need it in the end as he was too poorly.

Please don't feel awkward about asking for a private prescription. As a vet, I want my patient to get the medication I have prescribed. If funds are limited then I'd rather they went on veterinary time and advice so I know I'm doing the best for my patient.

There is a fee for a written prescription, usually £30 per item and we do 3 months supply before a medication review consultation. The interval is upto the vets but 6 months would be the maximum really. There are tighter rules for controlled drugs (gabapentin, phenobarbitone)

On-line veterinary pharmacists will easily supply licensed veterinary medication and can be delivered to the door. They are cheaper because the overheads for a warehouse are VASTLY smaller than the overheads for running a veterinary practice. Some are probably owned by the same corporates that own the practices?

Sometimes there isn't a licensed veterinary drug and we prescribe a human drug i.e. antiviral eye drops. A human pharmacy might be better placed to fulfill that prescription and charge whatever they charge for the drug.

By law, we HAVE to use the licenced options..I can't prescribe a cheaper generic amoxy-clavulanic antibiotic when there is a licenced one available.

Human chemists might be able to order veterinary licensed drugs..I'm not sure, most clients use the on line pharmacies.

It can make insurance claims a bit messy...owners have to claim for the drugs themselves rather than our admin team being able to submit all the invoices.

Can be really useful for stable cases on long term meds, less useful for unstable, acute or emergency situations.

Maybe you should read some of the answers here.

You can also buy supplements and some flea and worm treatments online without a prescription, such as Advantage, Panacur, Dennamarin (sp?), Drontal and they're cheaper than the vets and do work.

Also GoldenEye drops from the chemist work on cats with conjunctivitis if caught early enough.