Page 2 | Cost of antibiotics

luluskiptotheloo · 2019-08-30T15:22:19+00:00

My dog has an ear infection and the vet prescribed an antibiotic after taking a swab. I picked up the prescription today and it cost £88. I double checked and was told I was only paying for the tablets. Does this seem expensive?

Bookworm4 · 31/08/2019 00:07

There’s markup and 350%!!

XXcstatic · 31/08/2019 00:11

The veterinary medicines directorate (VMD) prevent veterinary practitioners from prescribing genetic drugs. We legally have to prescribe branded drugs licensed in the target species as a first choice.

Do you know why that it is @Veterinari? It's the opposite in human medicine - we are supposed to prescribe generically except for the handful of drugs where there may be inconsistency of effect between brands, e.g. anti-epileptics.

Veterinari · 31/08/2019 00:16

Sorry genetic should say generic!
We’re only allowed to prescribe drugs licensed for the target species, if those drugs don’t exist then we can ‘cascade’
www.gov.uk/guidance/the-cascade-prescribing-unauthorised-medicines

I assume this issue does not exist in human medicine as exhaustive clinical trials have been done for all drugs in the target species (humans) and also there are no issues of drugs potentially entering the food chain via humans as there are in animals.

These issues make veterinary prescribing much more complex and legally challenging than human prescribing in many ways

Veterinari · 31/08/2019 00:19

@XXcstatic
More info here:
www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-312922

XXcstatic · 31/08/2019 00:28

Interesting! Thanks.

Gingerkittykat · 31/08/2019 01:48

I've no idea how much it would cost to get a private prescription to use online, you also need to balance the fact that you wouldn't get the drugs instantly unlike at the vets.

I've found vet mark ups are huge, I buy the veterinary diet I use for around 60% of the cost online.

Original poster

luluskiptotheloo · 31/08/2019 07:56

No one said vets should act like charities. They make huge profits which is why they all drive around in expensive 4x4s.

OP posts:

XXcstatic · 31/08/2019 08:14

No one said vets should act like charities. They make huge profits which is why they all drive around in expensive 4x4s

Oh don't be daft - how are they supposed to visit farms in mid winter without a 4x4?

Healthcare is expensive because it requires lots of trained staff and expensive kit, but no one understands this in the U.K. because of the NHS. Vets often make a loss in the consultation fee but - if they charged the true cost - they'd lose custom. So they rely on mark ups on drugs to break even. Lots of vet practices are struggling to survive.

BiteyShark · 31/08/2019 08:19

I think if we all had to pay the true cost of human health care in the uk we wouldn't even question the cost of pet care.

OP next time just ask for a prescription and go online each time. That is the option that is available to you if you resent the markup.

Personally unless it's something like toothpaste I buy from my vets as I am happy that they continue to make a profit and stay open.

Original poster

luluskiptotheloo · 31/08/2019 08:43

Don’t call me daft please.

OP posts:

XXcstatic · 31/08/2019 08:44

Don’t call me daft please

Don't say daft things then.

Tamberlane · 31/08/2019 10:57

OP I think you need to look up the average wages for vets and vet nurses.... It isn't a particularly well paid profession considering the time and money spent on education...so I'm not sure where you think Hugh profits come into it, it's expensive to run a hospital and pay staff etc.
At the moment veterinary is also under going a bit of a retention and recruitment crisis and Vets also have a suicide rate 4 times the normal average....so it's not really plane sailing and an easy job. But sure those 4x4s that vets drive ,generally actually get purchased by the business not the the individual (as you sort of need the, order to be able to get into farms and fields where there are down animals)mean they are loaded.

OrangeSwoosh · 31/08/2019 11:19

They make huge profits

Haha. That good old public misconception. The company I work for make a 2% profit overall, so that'd be £1.76 profit on your £88 bill.

XXcstatic · 31/08/2019 11:33

sure those 4x4s that vets drive ,generally actually get purchased by the business not the the individual (as you sort of need the, order to be able to get into farms and fields where there are down animals)mean they are loaded

The OP probably thinks milkmen all really love dairy products, as they never keep so many in their vehicle. Also, all pilots must have loads of annual leave - look at all the foreign trips they go on

BiteyShark · 31/08/2019 11:48

No one said vets should act like charities. They make huge profits which is why they all drive around in expensive 4x4s.

OP that was a 'daft' thing to say. So all vets drive around in expensive 4x4s which they own outright yes?

I know I wouldn't want to be my vet. Mine had checked my dog in at 8:30 in the morning and was still there after 8pm at night giving me updates. I can certainly think of easier jobs which pay more.

missbattenburg · 31/08/2019 13:20

So a quick google shows a vet's average salary as between about 25k-45k. After 7 years of study (and associated debt).

These very clever people could easily make much more than that in another profession and, quite frankly, if I studied for 7 years and COULDN'T afford a nice car at the end of it, I'd be pretty pissed.

Add to all that the relatively high suicide rate among vets because of the massive pressure put on them by desperate owners.

Besides, surely as pp said, a 4x4 is more of a work tool than just coincidentally ALL vets love 4x4s. That would just be weird.

OrangeSwoosh · 31/08/2019 16:18

So a quick google shows a vet's average salary as between about 25k-45k. After 7 years of study (and associated debt)

Let's then compare that to the human equivalent of what a vet actually is - a GP (£74k-£90k average) and a surgeon (£75k-£105k average)

Yep, really raking in it them vets...

Fucksandflowers · 01/09/2019 07:21

I sympathise OP.

My dog had a nasty nail infection, from research that I did prior to seeing the vet it seemed a lengthy, 6 week at least course of antibiotics would be needed else she would need (extremely expensive) surgery.

The vet prescribed just under a weeks worth of antibiotic, presumably knowing it wouldn't touch the infection, while telling me that if it hadn't improved she'd need x rays and surgery which would be difficult and expensive because dewclaw removal is more like a limb amputation as it's like thumbs and attached to ligaments and things.

The infection was fixed homeopathically in the end.

I can't remember the exact figure I was charged now at the vet but I think it was around £180 for the antibiotic tablets.

When I got home and checked the price, the medication was around £10.

There is making profit and running a business then there is outright greed.
Disgusting the prices they charge.

WanderingAimlessly · 01/09/2019 07:26

My dogs meds were £111 from the vet. They are ongoing so I now buy them online for £44. You have to get the prescription from the vet so our dog gets a repeat prescription for £15 a go. Still not cheap but a hell of a lot better! Our vet was quite wounded when we said we were going to do this, but wasn’t prepared to do us a deal.

Veterinari · 02/09/2019 13:34

@Fucksandflowers

My dog had a nasty nail infection, from research that I did prior to seeing the vet it seemed a lengthy, 6 week at least course of antibiotics would be needed else she would need (extremely expensive) surgery.

It’s very unlikely that your dog would need a 6 week course of antibiotics for a nail infection, despite what you read on the Internet, but then you clearly think that your powers of ‘google’ give you more knowledge than 5 years at uni...

The vet prescribed just under a weeks worth of antibiotic, presumably knowing it wouldn't touch the infection, while telling me that if it hadn't improved she'd need x rays and surgery which would be difficult and expensive because dewclaw removal is more like a limb amputation as it's like thumbs and attached to ligaments and things.

5-7 days of antibiotics is a perfectly reasonable approach. To get on top of a simple nail bed infection. If the infection had not resolved by this point it would indicate potentially deeper tissue infection which could only been staged by X-ray.

The infection was fixed homeopathically in the end

Or by antibiotics and your dogs own immune system as there's Zero evidence for any form of successful homeopathic treatment.

It’s hilarious that you think you managed to diagnose and treat your dog with the Internet and sugar water. The misplaced arrogance of some people is astonishing!

XXcstatic · 02/09/2019 16:08

The infection was fixed homeopathically in the end

Or, to put it more accurately, your vet correctly ascertained that a short course of antibiotics would be enough, and was proven correct by the fact that the infection cleared up afterwards. However you decided to waste some money on mis-labelled water while you were waiting.

MrsJoshNavidi · 02/09/2019 16:18

Just goes to show what good value the NHS is really.

NemoIsLost · 03/09/2019 08:27

I've just paid for antibiotics and steroids for a Lab, 2 week course
Antibiotics £48
Steroids £9
Consultation £38
I think that's a reasonable price. we were in the vet about 30 min and fully examined.
Like pp said, it shows what a godsend the NHS is.