[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Vet and Prescriptions
- From: Fran Henry <fhenry1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: kthalfen@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2012 19:26:09 -0700
Katie, I appreciate your insight, and I do want to support my vet. He's earned
my respect.
At a recent visit, we discussed the price of metronidazole, which has gone
through the roof. I mentioned to him that folks on the list said that fish-zole
was an identical product and he said, forcefully, that he completely disagreed.
My Luke had an immune problem and had to be on Cyclosporin. The price from my
vet was simply beyond my means, but I found I could afford it (barely) from
Costco.
What are we to do? We can only afford what we can afford, but I, for one, will
NOT take shortcuts with my dogs' health. But how are we to know?
Fran Henry
Denver, CO
Home of Konigin's My Abilene, TC, CGC
On Feb 1, 2012, at 6:51 PM, Katie Halfen wrote:
> There is definitely a mark up that is on the meds you get at the vet clinic.
> However, I can guarantee you it is not as big as many people believe. We
> cannot even begin to get the deals and prices on the medications that the BIG
> pharmacies get like Walmart/Sam's, Target, CVS, Walgreen's, etc. The
> pharmaceutical companies really do give a discount to bulk quantities and
> this lower price can be passed on to the consumers. A vet clinic that orders
> 6 bottles of amoxicillin a month, doesn't even compare to the big guys and
> the prices are night and day. The problem with limiting veterinarians from
> dispensing medication and having more people pick up meds from human
> pharmacies, is that it decreases the profits, while the overhead remains the
> same for veterinarians. We have to make up for this deficit in one way or
> another, so if there is less profit coming in on medications, the price of
> the office visit, surgery prices, and hospitalization all increases.
> Just something to think about.
> Katie Halfen DVM
> Casamoko Shepherds
> www.casamoko.com
>
>
>>
>>
>> According to the folks at my local Walmart, they recently realized how much
>> oney they could make on dog prescriptions and changed their computer
>> rogram to encourage prescriptions for animals.
>> The situation described below used to happen at my vet's office - and you
>> ent home with medications at an incredible markup. Then many of their
>> lients (particularly the savvy breeders) realized that their dogs were
>> etting many of the same meds as people take and started asking for
>> rescriptions. As an example, Amoxicilline was $17 for 30 tablets at the
>> et but $4 at Walmart (it's one of the medications on their $4 list). I
>> ave an "old one" (almost 12) who has some arthritis. He's more comfortable
>> n a low dose of Metacam. $25/month for the liquid. $4 for 2 months for
>> eloxicam at Walmart. Big difference. . . Happy dog. Happy me. Happy vet
>> ecause I keep coming back.
>> After enough clients realized it, they pressured the vet into giving them
>> rescriptions. Problem solved. The clients spoke and the vet listened.
>> I believe that the more we can keep the government out of our dogs' health,
>> he better off we are. Pam
>> -----Original Message-----
>> rom: Stormy Hope
>> ent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 4:14 PM
>> o: GSD List
>> ubject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Vet and Prescriptions
>> ONe of the things that I have learned doing this "legislation gig," is
>> hat waiting for discussion on a new issue is very important. There's
>> bill before Congress now, brought there by Walmart, that would
>> equire Vets to offer prescriptions to their clients. Sounds great,
>> ight? I mean, most vets just immediately tell their staff to get the
>> eds ready, charge you for them and out the door you go.
>> ut then, think of the unintended consequences. Vets would then be
>> ANDATED to fill out a form stating that a paper Rx was handed to you,
>> legal paper trail; his office costs would go up; the money that he
>> ight make on the meds mark-up is lost and the Government has one more
>> nch of the camels nose in our tents. The Vets may stop stocking meds
>> hat they keep there for the convenience of the client (and to mark up
>> or sure).
>> ""H.R. 1406 would impose new stipulations on veterinary prescriptions.
>> he bill requires a veterinarian to 1) write a prescription whether or
>> ot he/she will dispense the product; 2) provide a written disclosure
>> otifying clients that they may fill prescriptions at the veterinary
>> linic or at an off-site pharmacy; and 3) verify a prescription
>> lectronically or by other means consistent with applicable state law."
>> go to http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php and type the bill # in the
>> earch box.
>> Who loses on this? We do. Vet's costs go up, Government now has more
>> f the nose in small businesses, and we spend more of our hard earned
>> oney at the Vet's offices.
>> A bit OT, but something to ponder and decide for yourselves/
>> Storm
>>
>>
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POST is Copyrighted 2011. All material remains the property of the original
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind
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Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its
administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in
any post.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
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