Prescription renewals - what is your vet saying?

Well, I went to renew a prescription for Georgie and the receptionist said that unless the vet had actually seen him in the last six months, the new law says they are not allow to issue a prescription or the medication.

We had them by the short and curlies whereby we can purchase our own medication via the internet (at half the cost!) and by law they have to sign/produce a prescription for us completely FREE OF CHARGE. Now they've come up with this, so we have to pay for a consultation (mine is £29!) at least every 6 months even if there's nothing wrong with the dog! i.e. Cassie is permanently on Metacam for her arthritis which she is fine on, and Georgie has been on the same medication and drugs for the past 6 years!!!

Anyone else in the same boat here? I would be interested to hear what your particular vet has said on this. It's just another way to get their hands on my hard earned cash!

Nice little earner.........I'll be interested to see what my vet has to say when Roxy's Metacam runs out......

i was asked if my animal had been seen in the last few months it is a minor miracle if we can go 6 weeks without seeing the vet i have seen a few people go in and get really angry when they are told they have to see the vet to get the prescription,i personally don't have a problem with having to see the vet to get the drugs

I have one dog on Soloxine which she started on, in January of this year. Her bloods were checked again in February, and I simply ring up a few days before the months supply runs out, and they have another months supply for me to pick up. So it's now 8 months since Kitty saw a Vet, and they have just now asked to see her before the next (9th) repeat prescription is due.

I could definately get the tablets cheaper on the net, but luckily for me they are only £4.59 a month anyway.

Dawn R.

Hi there,

Our vet has operated in this way for quite a while now. We had our old dog (Archie) on medication for heart problems & arthritis for over 1 year and our old cat (Delilah) on medication for a heart murmur for several years before we lost them both in the space of a few days in June this year.

For us, the idea of seeing the vet on a regular basis for a prescription check was invaluable so that we could together monitor the health and wellbeing of our beloved pets. The vet was always extremely fair and did not charge for these follow-up prescription checks.

I would always recommend that you find a vet or vets with whom you feel comfortable and at ease with - and it is worth considering changing to another if you feel that they are more interested in your cash than your animal's welfare.

I have to say that when the awful time came with Archie, we all cried together and we made a connection with all of the staff there - this was further reinforced when we then went through similar with Delilah.

I hope that this does not sound `preaching'

Ebony, my Afghan I lost last November, was on eye drops which I got from a specialist. She had to be seen every six months so that they could continue to prescribe them. In between they would post them when needed.

Jenna is on soloxine and is tested every three months. I am even reminded on the pill bottle when the next test is due

i think it depends on the meds they are on with ours.
if it is stuff where they have to check the progress or bloods we are given enough untill the test are due again but we don't get charged after the 3rd consultation as it classed as follow up on the condition they have.

The receptionist has misunderstood the legislation [ or the vet has ].

This came up elsewhere a while back so I contacted the RCVS for clarification at the time.

This is the response I received :

--------------------------------

Thank you for your email dated 4 January 2006 and I apologise sincerely for the delay in my response.



In order to prescribe medicines for animals, veterinary surgeons must have the animal in question under his care. Although the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2005 (which allow for veterinary surgeons to prescribe medicines) does not define the phrase "under his care", the RCVS has interpreted it as meaning that (and I paraphrase) : "that the animal must have been seen immediately before prescription and supply or recently enough or often enough for the veterinary surgeon to have personal knowledge of the condition of the animal to make a diagnosis and prescribe." What amounts to ‘recent enough’ must be a matter for the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon in the individual case. However, the decision as to how often an animal should be seen should be made for clinical, not commercial reasons.



However, this only applies to animals that require medication either as a result of a new condition or an ongoing ailment. I suspect that the lady you refer to may have an animal that has an ongoing condition which requires regular medication, in which case the above legislation might apply.



I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you would like me to clarify this further.



Yours sincerely,



Ed Attwood

Professional Conduct Department

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So there you go, its not a sweeping regulation encompassing all pets needing repeat prescriptions and it is very much at the discretion of the individual vet hence the response saying it `might` apply not that it absolutely *does* apply.

If anyone does need to check for their own furry crews circumstances on this particular topic, you know who to address emails or letters to at the RCVS :smt001

HTH

I'm not sure there actually is a legal requirement!

The law changed so that vets can no longer charge for prescriptions but as far as I know there is no min time frame on when they can be prescribed.

I think the VETS took it upon themselves to say "well to recoup this cost we will simply see the dog every x amount of months".

YES - you heard right, I was told exactly that by TWO different vets. Their openness about it suggests they think it's totally acceptable - something I found hard to stomach!

My last vet wanted to see Rocky every 4 months!!!!! Needless to say I no longer go there as I detest this kind of behaviour (in addition they were a complete rip-off for almost everything, from flea treatment to anti bite neck collars - approx 50% more than other vets!!).

It's not as though they don't make a nice profit on the drugs! Most people I would have thought fill out their prescriptions at the same vet anyway.

I think an action group is needed to keep an eye out for us lot - we really do get taken for a ride

One day, perhaps when Dogsey is big enough we can expose such scandals!

This is where they will try to get away with it then.

Personally (please say if you don't agree) - I think if the dog is otherwise healthy and shown no signs of illness or deterioation - being seen once a year is more than adequate.

All they do when they see they see Rocky is check his heartbeat and look in his mouth and ears anyway!