Vets to charge fees on formerly free written prescription?

As from 1st November 2008, vets will have the possibility to charge a fee for writing a prescription following a change in law.

This marks the end of a three-year ban during which vets were not allowed to incur any fees for producing a prescription: the ban was introduced to break the monopoly vets were holding on medicine supply. Since then, vets have been forced to lower the price of medicine due to an increasing competition of online pharmacies that offer the exact same products at a discounted rate. As a result they have been clawing back on lost revenues but increasing other charges like consultation fees, treatment costs and possibly, from 1st November 2008, prescription fees too.

Each practice will be able to determine whether and how much they want to charge for writing a prescription but they will need to make it clear to their customers and be consistent. Insured customers won’t have to worry as prescription fees will be covered by their pet insurance policy.

Others might see a small increase in vet bills but at least they’ll be able to buy medication online. Petmeds.co.uk currently offers free postage and an extra 5% discount with the following code: pet435.

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