A friend was recently prescribed meds for her dog at £26. Then the vet asked if she was insured and she told him "no". He then substituted the drug for a different one at £12.

I rest my case.

Not enough to make your case - were the drugs replaced on a like for like basis or was a second line choice used. Was this made at the request of the vet or the owner?

Anyway - what we are saying is that we (Well owners) are allowed to define the salary and quality of life enjoyed by Vets. Remember the majority are salaried employees and make no extra money on these fees. don't forget nurses receptionists and cleaners. I am not even beginning to think of the complexities of running a business.

Someone suggested charging a fair cost for a vets time without excessive mark ups on drugs etc. Agreed but as noted historically we have been able to phone up for hours of free advice. Vets phone labs on to query results and get advice - who is going to pay the bill for phonecalls. I suspect all that would happen is lots of bad debtors and posts here about vets charging for phonecalls when the animal wasn't seen!

Sorry , what a load of rubbish..

If you don't like the charges go somewhere else.. do your homework,

I am very happy with my vets... they are reasonable in their charges... they ask if you have insurance if treatment is on going.

I have just paid over £3000 for my dogs treatment.

This included..numerous visits to the vet. prescription drugs... seeing specialists.. at 150 for consultation alone... MRI scans hospital stays, histology reports ,surgery, after care the list is endless.

Comparing yesteryears and today's medical treatment for animals , does not cut it..we have moved on, just like with people.

Yrs ago, you could not take a dog to have a MRI scan/Ultrasound ..we did not have trained specialists that can put any NHS doctor to shame..with every piece of specialized equipment known to man at their finger tips..

if you have had a bad experience , move on, dont go tarring all vets with your views and experiences.

You have no need to patronise me - until recently I ran my own business. as far as debtors are concerned, I am fully aware of how people go out of their ways to avoid payment and to take legal action against them is costly and useless.

This action was initiated by the vet - my friend simply reported to me what was said and done. It simply illustrates that some vets are opportunists when it comes to reclaiming costs from insurance companies. They are not alone. How many folk have added a few "extras" on to a claim prior to its submission? Insurance premiums build this in to their premiums, of course.

My point was just that. Why should my vet charge include time for the vet making calls for your pet?

If I pay a vet fairly for their service, which for my vet is £60 per hour, that should include sufficient funds to cover all of their business in regard to MY pets treatment relating to that consultancy.

I pay for a blood test. That should cover charges for them phoning the lab, shipping etc, as necessary. I don't want to subsidise your ability to call my vet for free. If you need advice from a professional then you should pay for it.

But paying £60 per hour and then having the vet make another £25 on top of the drugs or £15+ on a prescription is quite frankly dishonest.

Writing a prescription for a drug, where the vet has been paid for the diagnosis/consultancy, that takes no more that 10 minutes, including the admin of recording it is daylight robbery at £15+.

I say be honest about it. Play fair. Charge £80 per hour and stop ripping us off with such profiteering. What other business these days can make 100% margin on a product, or even if you don't buy it from them still make 25%+ margin buy charging for a prescription?

Here's a real scenario.

Consultation 20 mins @ £20
Drugs @ £46

or

Consultation 20 mins @ £20
Prescription @ £15
Drugs @ £24 (online)

Why charge for the prescription? Quite simply because the vet is losing profits by not supplying the drugs. I would suggest the vet is actually making more profit by NOT supplying the drugs than if they do.

Not all vets charge this much for a prescription and you definitely have to shop around.

My point was just that. Why should my vet charge include time for the vet making calls for your pet?

If I pay a vet fairly for their service, which for my vet is £60 per hour, that should include sufficient funds to cover all of their business in regard to MY pets treatment relating to that consultancy.



Absolutey No disagreement - except that fair would be more in line with Lawyer costs or Doctor costs. And itemised billing to show time spent calling labs etc - charged at that rate. ie £400 pound per hour.

Historically Vets have always charged large mark ups on drugs to keep consult costs down. (And been underpaid in comparison to other professions). The Government has rightly said that has to stop and now we are seeing the true cost of actual services being billed.

Health care in both the veterinary and human field is expensive - If you can't afford a dogs healthcare should you have the luxury of a dog?

It is worth shopping around and finding the right vet to suit you and your pet's needs . Where I live there are vets with state of the art equipment etc and there are vets which have more basic equipment and they tend to be more reasonably priced . The best way of finding a vet which suits you and your needs is to ask other pet owners .
Their attitude has to right for you and your pet's needs too .
The more animals you have and therefore are more likely to be at the vet more then it is more important to get it right

Sounds good to me - Generally you get what you pay for!

You really think a vet is worth £400 per hour?

It can't be compared to a doctor - no where near the same risks involved. You kill a human patient you're in a lot hotter water than if you make a wrong judgement with a pet.

Not doubting it's skilled work, requiring specialist education, but at the end of the day it's worth what us pet owners can afford to pay. Any vet charging £400/hr isn't going to be getting many patients.

Now if you're going to argue if you can't afford the healthcare you shouldn't have a pet, you're missing the point. Who sets the prices, pet owners, vets or insurance companies?

Don't try to tell me vets are in it just for the love of the animals. If that were true you'd see a lot fewer Audi's & BMW's in their car parks.

The reason vets go into the profession is for the love of animals . Considering it is by far the most difficult course to get into they could have done anything else which no doubt would have been far more lucrative . It is also the most difficult course to do why should they not get some nice things for all their hard work . Nobody minds Doctors lawyers etc having nice things .
However the ones who have the big cars are the partners which is not most vets . Most vets are employees and are on a lower wage with longer hours than any Doctor