Has anyone had the vet give them trouble about ordering pet meds online?

[marie1203]

My vet won't fax it to them but I can go pick up the prescription. Also in some prescriptions they have send it to our local pharmacy no problem.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

My vets meds prices are the same as or less than online

 

[Shelli_5]

I think you have every right to be mad! My vet also marks up the price on meds. They will send in prescriptions to online sites, but only if you pay a fee. It's ridiculous!! I stay with my vet because I like everything else about their practice, but the medication issue sure does piss me off.

 

[Batch]

I currently work for an animal hospital and we provide written prescriptions for heartworm prevention for any client who asks for one...as long as their pet has had an exam and heartworm test (for dogs) in the past year. Clients must pick these up from us and need to sign a document stating our concerns with online pharmacies and the products they sell. We don't give clients a hard time about it but we do make sure that they are informed. There isn't a charge for this unless we write one, you lose it, and we have to write another.

 

[sunshine1178]

I think that a lot of the hesitation for vets to provide written prescriptions to outside pharmacices/pharmaceutical providers comes from liability.

I witnessed someone at my office "whiting out" the date on his dog's heartworm prescription, and then faxing it to the "mail order" store. If the dog has somehow acquired heartworms, taking the heartworm medicine can be dangerous, and is potentially lethal. If the mail order store presented the forged prescription as proof of doctor's orders, then the burden of evidence is on the vet to prove that it is outdated. Unless he/she uses prescription pads with a carbon, that would be hard to do.

 

[fkj2]

I think that a lot of the hesitation for vets to provide written prescriptions to outside pharmacices/pharmaceutical providers comes from liability.

I witnessed someone at my office "whiting out" the date on his dog's heartworm prescription, and then faxing it to the "mail order" store. If the dog has somehow acquired heartworms, taking the heartworm medicine can be dangerous, and is potentially lethal. If the mail order store presented the forged prescription as proof of doctor's orders, then the burden of evidence is on the vet to prove that it is outdated. Unless he/she uses prescription pads with a carbon, that would be hard to do.

Whoa! I'm surprised a company would accept that. Those scripts are only good for one year as dated just like scripts for humans.

 

[Cruise]

Whoa! I'm surprised a company would accept that. Those scripts are only good for one year as dated just like scripts for humans.

I'm guessing the person rewrote a more current date on the script before faxing it. Since faxes aren't always clear, the online company probably either couldn't tell, or really just didn't care.

 

[ShannonMB]

The exact same thing happened to me when I had already paid for the order at petmeds. The office called and said they don't do the online prescription thing. I just went ahead and cancelled my petmeds order, and fortunately, my vet does the price match also. It did rub me the wrong way because it was kind of a pain. But that's all long since in the past, and it is actually easier for me to just stop over at the office and get it anyway.

Sorry, I know that was irritating and frustrating!

 

[Squirrel!!!]

Our vet charges $5 per prescription if you want to buy it somewhere else. Its a little crazy.

Charging to write a prescription is illegal in some states. Pharmacy law in my state says that a written Rx must be provided if requested. Charging for it is not a legally justified procedure.

It is true that some of online products come from questionable sources. That happens more when they are purchased from ebay. Frontline and advantage seem to be the most commonly "mocked up" products found there.

Pet meds express and some of the other online places are relentless with their constant faxing to vet offices. As silly as it seems, having the fax machine whirring away for much of the day printing requests and demands and reminders from them prevents lab reports and important documents from coming through and makes the machines go through a ton of toner!!! This is one of the reasons some offices choose to only provide a written Rx. and won't play the faxing game.

Sorry that you hit such a wall when you called OP. It is possible that the individual with whom you spoke was being a bit overzealous with a new policy?

 

[hsmamato2]

I'd find another vet asap-no joking. That is seriously shameless money grubbing,IMO. Too bad it is now all about making $$$,not really solid animal care. I searched and found a new vet a few years ago,as the desperate money grubbing got to me -and it was usually disguised as 'concern for the animals' in a big guilt routine.
long story short,I found a vet that didn't operate that way,and my animals get good care ,basic care that keeps them healthy without all the foolishness.

 

[disney4us2002]

Maybe I missed this but if you ordered and paid and then the vet said no, what happens? You said you were out the money but they won't mail the heartguard? I'm confused. I was thinking it was similar to ordering contacts online. My eye doc will not return 1800contacts phone call to verify my prescription but 1800 will still mail my contacts with a disclaimer that they couldn't verify the prescription.

 

[NiftyJ88]

For anyone who is interested and does not know, there is a generic heartworm medicine. It's called Tri-Heart. It is MUCH cheaper than the heartgard. My vet will verify a script for online ordering, but only from a US company. They will however, price match. I tell them the website and as long as it is a US company, they will give me that same price.
It does irk me that if they are willing and able to price match - why don't they offer the meds at that price. There are probably people who are struggling financially who don't know to ask for price matching, so either they pay more than they can afford or the pets go without care they need.

 

[DVC-Don]

Ours refused so we found another vet for our two dogs business.

 

[yoopermom]

In defense of our good vet, she not only matches the reputable online places, but last week when I accidentally ran out of my dog's daily med, and she didn't have any available either, she called into Walgreens for me and placed an order just for a few pills to carry me over. When I picked them up, I wondered why it was only a few until I saw the price--DOUBLE what the vet and the online supplier charge! OUCH! (And, no, our human medical insurance wouldn't cover them...)

I wouldn't trade my vet for the WORLD, and think they should be treated with respect, even if you disagree with them...

Terri

 

[ErinLovesDot]

I am going through the exact same thing RIGHT NOW. Whoever said that about working in a vets office marking their products up is incorrect. They are DOCTORS. They've been to school for at least 4 years. I doubt the majority of their income is from products like FLEA PREVENTION. I agree with lola. I never thought about it like that. THAT IS good advice. Safety of our pets. The meds could be expired, stamped (fake) or placebos. That is why they're the doctors. They know what's best. I don't think your employer would appreciate that. Afterall, are you a doctor?
Long story short, called my vet they refused to sign the release for online meds. But offered a free office visit and a discounted price for the flea prevention for my kitty.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

My doctor and medical insurance company don't dictate where I get my prescriptions filled. Why should my vet?

I am very sorry to hear that you're having so many problems with this. I'd be upset, too.

FYI - there are major medical insurance companies (such as mine) that DO dictate where you can have your prescriptions filled. It is not convenient. It is not user friendly. It is upsetting and frustrating and takes way more time, effort & frustration. But it is what they require if I want them to cover the cost of a prescription for anything they decide must be filled via their mail order division.

So it does happen with some humans as well.

 

[LadyD]

I am going through the exact same thing RIGHT NOW. Whoever said that about working in a vets office marking their products up is incorrect. They are DOCTORS. They've been to school for at least 4 years. I doubt the majority of their income is from products like FLEA PREVENTION. I agree with lola. I never thought about it like that. THAT IS good advice. Safety of our pets. The meds could be expired, stamped (fake) or placebos. That is why they're the doctors. They know what's best. I don't think your employer would appreciate that. Afterall, are you a doctor?
Long story short, called my vet they refused to sign the release for online meds. But offered a free office visit and a discounted price for the flea prevention for my kitty.

You are spot on in your assessment. Many vets these days do an internship year after vet school (where they're paid basically nothing) and those who specialize go through a residency as well. They're also required to do more continuing education as a professional throughout their career to stay current. This is all after 4 years of undergraduate school and 4 years of vet school. Since vet school is super, super competitive (you need like over a 3.6 GPA average to even be considered these days from undergrad and complete a very rigorous set of science courses to meet the prereqs), many people entering vet school these days may even have additional education like a masters before vet school.

I wanted to go to vet school. I worked my butt off from high school through undergraduate college to get all the classes, grades, test scores, and experience I needed to get into vet school, but by the time I could apply, vet school prices had increased astronomically and I could not justify going to school for it. Most (U.S.) vets who recently graduated these days are carrying 200k+ in student loans and they're lucky if they not only have a full time job out of vet school, but if that job is paying them 60k/year (depending on location). If I had gone to vet school, I would literally be working for decades just to pay my student loan debt.

For those who think vets are in it for the money, think again. People see how much vets charge vs human medicine. Look at how much you would pay out of pocket at the human doctor before insurance. Those are the prices you should be comparing. The vet industry does not have the same robust insurance industry propping it up. If you compare similar procedures, like orthopedic ones, the vet procedure is going to be significantly cheaper hands down than a human one out of pocket, even though they're using the same skills, similarish techniques, and similar tools.

I have worked with so many vets that have tried everything they can to finagle as much care as possible for someone's pet on an extremely limited budget and then how they beat themselves up after for not being able to do more. Vets cannot give away their services. They need to be able to eat and put a roof over their head too (as well as pay their severely underpaid staff). Becoming a vet is not something someone does to get rich. They do it because they have a passion for animals and helping people by keeping their furry family members happy. Vets actually have an incredibly high rate of suicide in the profession due to all of these pressures in part.

So if anyone thinks their vet is a greedy, money-grubbing profit driven business person, please consider everything they've been through to get where they are to make the recommendations that they are from tests to medicines to courses of treatment. Do truly bad vets exist? Yes, but they are in the minority. Most are just looking out for your pet's best interests based on their education, experience, and collaborative input from colleagues at times.

 

[mrsstats]

My vet does not have a problem with using an online vendor. If he would price match or even be close I wouldn't even consider online.

 

[tvguy]

36 states require vets to provide a written prescription*. Not to do so is considered a violation of vet ethics laws. However, it doesn't say they have to do it for free.
My vet has a big sign in the lobby saying your pet has had to have been seen by one of their vets in the past year....saying that is California state law.....for them to fill or write a prescription.
I never had an issue. My last cat had IBS and was on corticosteroids for the last 6 years of her life. For some reason there was a shortage of veterinary corticosteroids, and they were expensive, like $50. The same human dosage was always available at my pharmacy, for $6 for the same dosage and number of pills, so my vet rarely even had it in stock, so they just sent us to the people pharmacy.

* https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/veterinary-prescription-orders.aspx

 

[LadyD]

36 states require vets to provide a written prescription*. Not to do so is considered a violation of vet ethics laws. However, it doesn't say they have to do it for free.
My vet has a big sign in the lobby saying your pet has had to have been seen by one of their vets in the past year....saying that is California state law.....for them to fill or write a prescription.
I never had an issue. My last cat had IBS and was on corticosteroids for the last 6 years of her life. For some reason there was a shortage of veterinary corticosteroids, and they were expensive, like $50. The same human dosage was always available at my pharmacy, for $6 for the same dosage and number of pills, so my vet rarely even had it in stock, so they just sent us to the people pharmacy.

* https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/veterinary-prescription-orders.aspx

It is state law in many states for vets needing to have seen your pet within the last year to provide a prescription. There are many drugs used in veterinary medicine that are the same drugs as human medicine, just different dosing. For example tramadol (pain), gabapentin (pain), phenobarbital (seizures), zonisamide (seizures), steroids (numerous uses), Benadryl (allergies), insulin (diabetes), amoxicillin (infections), etc are all used in both human and veterinary medicine, just with very different dosing, which is why you can't just give your pill to your pet. If your vet is prescribing a medication used by humans too, it is worth seeing if the human pharmacy carries the correct dose for your pet and the cost for the medication compared to the vet office and having your vet write a prescription for you to fill at the human pharmacy.