If you know you CAN get a prescription from your vet do you ask for one?

I think I spend quite enough at my vets so have no qualms in asking for a Metacam prescription for my oldie but  I am suprised when people say "they don't like to ask". 

Today I took 2 terriers to their vet for their boosters. The owner is housebound with a bad hip & is waiting to go into hospital & his spouse is already in hospital. A lady came out of the surgery with an old Goldie. She had the biggest pot of Rimadyl, a big tub of joint powder & the dog had had an immunotherapy injection. She was charged £260 & I bet she could've saved a lot of money if  she knew about prescriptions.

Meanwhile the 2 x 11 year old terriers had their boosters (£78) & I was told that they both needed a complete dental & wormers. As I'd just seen how frugally this couple were living I doubt if they could ever afford it - he will have to board the dogs (hence the boosters) for a couple of weeks while he's in hospital/ recovering from his hip & knee op.

I never thought it worth it as our vets were charging a lot and it didn't therefore make it any cheaper.
BUT one of the vets has told me its only £4 for a prescription, which is a huge cut...though they still advertise them at a higher price.. If i can get it at £4 then i'll be able to save a huge amount on flea treatment in the future...

Yes we have thought about it as I joke our two contribute more than their fair share to the vets pension. I do try and look for alternatives for products such as malaseb and rightly or wrongly I have been warned that if I buy on line to be very cautious, as some drugs are not what they are advertised to be. I believe our vet charges £14-£15.00 for a script.

I once asked for a prescription when I needed a large amount of something that was going to cost the earth.  My favourite vet wasn't on, and the vet I saw didn't hesitate, and didn't actually charge me for the prescription.

When my own vet came back off holiday and found out (don't know if he was worried about losing thousands of pounds a year from me), he started giving me discounts! 

I took in my pharmaceutical price list, pointed out prices for things like Panacur, and he decided to match any offer I had been given.  He now discounts my booster jabs as well.  It is a fairly expensive hospital, and operations are pretty pricey, but the patient care is fantastic, so I pay it.

If you don't ask, you don't get!  :-)

I'm in need of some Frontline spray for my daughter's horse. You can't get the spray without prescription but the vet I use for the dogs and the equine vet both charge for prescriptions so I don't think I will end up any cheaper buying it online. If the animals need something regularly then I usually check online prices and add on the prescription cost and if it was significantly cheaper I would ask for a prescription, however for anything that is needed immediately I just get it at the vet - couldn't let the dogs/cats suffer for a few days so I could save a few pounds.

>I am suprised when people say "they don't like to ask".

I can understand people feeling a bit awkward about it.  There is a touch of 'British' reserve that sometimes pops up at the vets, doctors and dentist!  I've heard from quite a few people that they are uncomfortable about questioning prices or querying diagnosis.

This is where the telphone can be handy.  If anyone ever mentions that 'they don't like to ask' it may be worth suggesting that they ring BEFORE a script is needed just to enquire what the policy is.  At least that way they look at online prices to make their calculations for regular medication in advance.

I seem to have an unvoluntary indrawn breath which indictes my 'ouch' price :)

> I believe our vet charges £14-£15.00 for a script.

Mine only charges £2.50

> Mine only charges £2.50

Lucky you!

Mine charges £9.99 inc VAT

Diane

wow 2.50!! Mine charges 10£, and they charged me for a prescription when I had to go to a chemist to collect human iron supplements, even thought you do not need a prescription for these!!! The vet did not supply them so I had to go to the chemist. I was soooo ticked when I found out they were an over the counter item

Mine has not charged to date, I buy the drugs for an acute condition at the vets but long term items I have a prescription for. The other day I paid, at the vets, £56 for a months course of ABs the same drug would have cost me £32 on line so if it needs repeating I will be asking for a script.

> when I had to go to a chemist to collect human iron supplements, even thought you do not need a prescription for these!!! The vet did not supply them so I had to go to the chemist

Wow!!   I once had a puppy be car sick on the way to my vet for his first jab.  I was concerned that pup would be ill on the way to his new owners, so phoned my vet prior to pup leaving home.  He asked me to weigh the pup, and left a precription for me to collect, and take to my own chemist.  It was something used for human babies.  Only cost a couple of quid.  My vet left dosing instructions for me when I collected the prescription, but I was never charged.  As it came from a human chemist, I considered that it was usual to get the prescription for nothing.  Seems I was totally wrong!

If it was a 'prescription' for something that can't be sold over the counter, then the pup should have been examined by a qualified professional first, whether or not the vet decided to charge for the prescription. However since the 'cascade' was introduced a vet is breaking the law if he/she prescribes a human-licenced drug if there's an animal-licenced alternative, no matter what the difference in price. He simply cannot do it.

If it was just advice for something that was available over the counter anyway (and pre-cascade) then what he did was perfectly legal.