Ever refused to pay for medication at the vets?

[Em3bbs]

Just think if we didnt have the NHS (not considering the opinions) we would be paying £200 for antibiotics etc so its understandable how much drugs cost.

That's strange, I lived in Germany for 5 years and without the NHS I never saw this. The problem with these kind of arguments is that when you compare the NHS to a vet (or the US system of healthcare) then it gives a bit of a false impression. The NHS != all social healthcare.

 

[Em3bbs]

double post

 

[Energize]

This is the problem with the current market, because of prescription medicine regulations etc consumers suffer and are forced into paying higher prices. If we had a free market where prescriptions were not required to buy medicine, we would all be much better off.

Just think if we didnt have the NHS (not considering the opinions) we would be paying £200 for antibiotics etc so its understandable how much drugs cost.

Most drugs are generic and cost very little, the NHS is generally more expensive than private prescriptions.

 

[Roar87]

I think I paid £60 for my Rabbits eye drops, after giving him them for 2 days there was more chance of getting blood from a stone than those drops in his eyes. His eyes are better though just from cleaning them with warm water and a cotton bud.

 

[mattyg]

This is the problem with the current market, because of prescription medicine regulations etc consumers suffer and are forced into paying higher prices. If we had a free market where prescriptions were not required to buy medicine, we would all be much better off.



Most drugs are generic and cost very little, the NHS is generally more expensive than private prescriptions.

Really. I'm sure the pharma companies invest Billions into research for new drugs then only have a limited amount of time in which to have the sole rights before everyone else can jump on the bandwagon.

 

[Energize]

Really. I'm sure the pharma companies invest Billions into research for new drugs then only have a limited amount of time in which to have the sole rights before everyone else can jump on the bandwagon.

They do, but the vast majority of medications prescribed have been out for a good few years and only cost a few quid.

The NHS makes millions in profit every year from charging people for prescriptions.

 

[mattyg]

They do, but the vast majority of medications prescribed have been out for a good few years and only cost a few quid.

The NHS makes millions in profit every year from charging people for prescriptions.

I've a chronic disease and I pay £120 ish per year for a pre paid card. Just one of my cocktail of drugs would cost $247 for 30 in the US. I take 6 per day or $1400 per month.

I think the NHS undercharge..

 

[Energize]

I've a chronic disease and I pay £120 ish per year for a pre paid card. Just one of my cocktail of drugs would cost $247 for 30 in the US. I take 6 per day or $1400 per month.

I think the NHS undercharge..

If we look at the cost of a one month supply of the top 5 medications:

Simvastatin = 84p
Aspirin = 81p
Levothyroxine = £2.02
Ramipril = £1.07
Bendroflumethiazide = 80p

You can clearly see that in the general case, the NHS greatly overcharge.

A small minority of patients like yourself benefit at the expensive of everyone else. It is simply not the case that all medications are really expensive in the private market, and US prices are often more expensive than other countries anyway.

 

[mattyg]

If we look at the cost of a one month supply of the top 5 medications:

Simvastatin = 84p
Aspirin = 81p
Levothyroxine = £2.02
Ramipril = £1.07
Bendroflumethiazide = 80p

You can clearly see that in the general case, the NHS greatly overcharge.

A small minority of patients like yourself benefit at the expensive of everyone else. It is simply not the case that all medications are really expensive in the private market, and US prices are often more expensive than other countries anyway.

You can't just look at the cost of the medicine. there is a whole supply chain that takes a cut. The pharmacy also needs paying @ around £2 per drug dispensed etc

 

[Energize]

You can't just look at the cost of the medicine. there is a whole supply chain that takes a cut. The pharmacy also needs paying @ around £2 per drug dispensed etc

Those prices are quoted from the BNF and reflect pretty much all costs involved except for the pharmacy dispensing charge which are you mention is a couple of quid.

 

[DampDog]

I've a chronic disease and I pay £120 ish per year for a pre paid card. Just one of my cocktail of drugs would cost $247 for 30 in the US. I take 6 per day or $1400 per month.

I think the NHS undercharge..

If we look at the cost of a one month supply of the top 5 medications:

Simvastatin = 84p
Aspirin = 81p
Levothyroxine = £2.02
Ramipril = £1.07
Bendroflumethiazide = 80p

You can clearly see that in the general case, the NHS greatly overcharge.

A small minority of patients like yourself benefit at the expensive of everyone else. It is simply not the case that all medications are really expensive in the private market, and US prices are often more expensive than other countries anyway.

I think it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Generally common medications can be sourced more cheaply than you would pay for a prescription. However some drugs are astonishingly expensive, the other thing to bear in mind, is not everyone pays for their prescriptions, OAP's for one group and we are being told that group is growing by the day with ever more complex diseases to treat. Personally, mid last year I was switched to a new medication for heart failure called Entresto, that comes in at £90+ a month and looks like it will become a goto drug in the future. At the moment it's too expensive for the GP's so I collect my prescription directly from the hospital pharmacy. I use the pre-pay card scheme an it feels like a bargain, considering the number of tablets I take daily, I'm surprised I don't rattle.

 

[Boge]

OP has my sympathy.

We have a 13 1/2 year old Springer who needs a liver supplement to maintain all the other meds she's on (hip dysplasia, arthritis)

18 months ago we thought we were going to lose her but the vet started her on Denamarin and she really picked up again.

Thing is, 30 tablets (425mg), just a months supply, the vet was charging £125.

Looked online , Amazon - £50. No prescription required.

Yes we're insured but we also have to stump up 50 % of all costs (she's quite an old dog , for a Springer - average lifespan -10 years)

I sometimes wonder how these people sleep at night charging what they do.

 

[jon86]

...
I sometimes wonder how these people sleep at night charging what they do.

I imagine that they sleep pretty well.

 

[Vern1961]

With regard to euthanasia, I can't say on the sad occasions we had pets put to sleep I've noticed any emotion from the vet, maybe they keep it bottled up but the last thing you need with grief stricken owners is for the vet to come across as upset or distressed. They have a job to do and I appreciate the fact they do it coolly and professionally. Likewise we have sometimes been the next patient called after the previous person came out in a distressed state obviously having their pet PTS and the vet has been cool as a cucumber. Obviously there's a slightly subdued atmosphere but like emergency services who have to deal with dead and possibly disrupted bodies, if you go into that line of work you know that's something you will be dealing with on a regular basis so I expect they become hardened to it.

 

[Hedge]

We just get a prescription from the vets for about £8 then use it to buy the meds online. The vet himself says even he struggles to buy some of the meds as cheap as the online places sell it.

 

[FoxEye]

Shock as businesses charge more than it actually costs them to provide goods and services.

Only it's galling because lobbyists acting on behalf of the veterinary industry successfully lobbied (aka paid) the govt to make sure we *all* have to buy prescriptions from vets these days.

The only stuff you can get from the supermarket is the placebo stuff that doesn't actually work. That bloody Bob Martin crap that is universally panned by everyone. If you want something that actually works, like Stronghold, the lobbyists and govt say you must get it from a vet. A vet who will charge £30-£50 (down here) just for the prescription. If you also buy the product from them, it works out to be £100 for a single course of flea/worming treatment.

And another £60 for the consultation/checkup.

Frankly ridiculous.

 

[Greebo]

This is the problem with the current market, because of prescription medicine regulations etc consumers suffer and are forced into paying higher prices. If we had a free market where prescriptions were not required to buy medicine, we would all be much better off.



Most drugs are generic and cost very little, the NHS is generally more expensive than private prescriptions.

There are very good reasons why drugs are either prescription free or prescription only you know? Like they can kill you given to the wrong patient.

 

[Greebo]

With regard to euthanasia, I can't say on the sad occasions we had pets put to sleep I've noticed any emotion from the vet, maybe they keep it bottled up but the last thing you need with grief stricken owners is for the vet to come across as upset or distressed. They have a job to do and I appreciate the fact they do it coolly and professionally. Likewise we have sometimes been the next patient called after the previous person came out in a distressed state obviously having their pet PTS and the vet has been cool as a cucumber. Obviously there's a slightly subdued atmosphere but like emergency services who have to deal with dead and possibly disrupted bodies, if you go into that line of work you know that's something you will be dealing with on a regular basis so I expect they become hardened to it.

This. My other half can be professional and wonderful with the pet's owner as she needs to be but then once finished work at home she can be bawling her eyes out for hours.

 

[Greebo]

I think it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Generally common medications can be sourced more cheaply than you would pay for a prescription. However some drugs are astonishingly expensive, the other thing to bear in mind, is not everyone pays for their prescriptions, OAP's for one group and we are being told that group is growing by the day with ever more complex diseases to treat. Personally, mid last year I was switched to a new medication for heart failure called Entresto, that comes in at £90+ a month and looks like it will become a goto drug in the future. At the moment it's too expensive for the GP's so I collect my prescription directly from the hospital pharmacy. I use the pre-pay card scheme an it feels like a bargain, considering the number of tablets I take daily, I'm surprised I don't rattle.

Thats the why I see it. The profit from the £8.50 charge or whatever it is now for a 50p medicine subsidizes the medicine which costs £200 or even £10,000 a month.

 

[Em3bbs]

This. My other half can be professional and wonderful with the pet's owner as she needs to be but then once finished work at home she can be bawling her eyes out for hours.

A few years ago our vet kindly let us put our cat to sleep outside in their garden, he hated visiting the vet and especially the table but he actually seemed relaxed before they injected him outside in the sun. The vet even sent us a condolence card.

Recently another cat of our had breast cancer, had a strip of teats removed and because of the type of aggressive cancer it was had chemo for a couple of months and the vets were all very supportive and looked after her well. She's made a complete recovery it seems, 2 years on and she's a healthy 11 year old cat. (Thank goodness for pet insurance though, it cost about 4k!)