Medications...this might be touchy

[Marty]

If you read below, Winnie has some problems...appparently not as bad as feared at this time.

She had the cysto done today and the results won't be in until Tues or Wed.

With her history, I felt more comfortable with getting her on an antibiotic now, rather than wait. So we went with amoxycillin for now.

The thing bothering me is that when I asked about getting an AB for five days until the results came in, I was told it would cost almost as much as a 2 week treatment.

I did inventory for 10 years and was great at pharmacies...they buy in big bottles and count pills out. There is no way that can be justified....except they are afraid I won't come back for some reasonI I am gonna assume there would be people that woundn't come back...but I have used them for over 20 years...they know me well.

[davet]

i think i am missing something here but if i gather right, it would be less expensive to have the vet write a perscription and pick it up from a pharmacy.. I dont remember the price of amoxi, but i suspect it was one of the cheaper one....don;t know

[KB]

Was it possible they wanted to give you the liquid (which ususally comes prepackaged to make a 14 day dosing) and not pills?

[Marty]

No, not liquid. Some liquids are actually measured out and mixed with something else in the pharmacy.

I am thinking that some pet owners, once their pet was feeling better after 5 days on ABs, would not go back once the culture had identified the bacteria...hence the cost of 5 days being the same as 2 weeks. I'm going to guess it is a policy of the clinic, as they want to be sure your pet gets the full dosage of meds. If her meds need to be changed next week, I will do it, but maybe not everyone would. I do not want her to have another stone surgery, and I realize the Vet absolutely does not want to do another one.

I have been totally compliant with what he wants for her...just don't see a reason why 5 days of ABs should cost as much as 14 days.

[JMM]

With cheap meds, it will sometimes work out this way. Because we cannot buy in bulk and stock a lot of any particular medications, we have a miminum dispensing charge (for us, it is $9). So even if you get 1 pill, it is still $9. We don't raise the price until the cost of the pills is more than the dispensing charge. So, for a dirt cheap medication (like prednisone), the cost for 2 pills and the cost for 30 pills is $9.

[k9Karen]

I was thinking along the lines of what JMM said. They are charging a minimum for the container and their time. After a certain point, you just pay for the meds.

[Marty]

But even most pharmacies don't really have more than 1 or 2 jars of a medicine in stock, except for larger places like KMart. They just reorder on a daily basis. It costs the same no matter what. And that plastic jar can't be more than a few cents... I do understand the time involved needs to be paid for.

Even with a minimum charge, I was well over that $9 by paying $21 for 20 amoxi tabs...I still would have been over the minimum by getting 10 tabs.

[Traci]

My guess is there is a dispensing fee involved, which would mean you'd be paying for that twice, rather than once for a 14 day treatment. Also, depending on the culture results, a 14-day treatment would probably be the norm anyway.

[JMM]

But even most pharmacies don't really have more than 1 or 2 jars of a medicine in stock, except for larger places like KMart. They just reorder on a daily basis. It costs the same no matter what. And that plastic jar can't be more than a few cents... I do understand the time involved needs to be paid for.

Even with a minimum charge, I was well over that $9 by paying $21 for 20 amoxi tabs...I still would have been over the minimum by getting 10 tabs.

The 2 things vets don't make money on are prescription food and dispensing medication.
1. Because of the space they take up to stock
2. Because of the manpower hours required to order, put away, fill, etc. This especially goes for controlled substances which are a royal pain to deal with.

I work in a 6 vet practice and we have ONE row of shelving for prescription meds. I didn't realize until I started to do the ordering how much time ordering alone took up! It is not like a pharmacy where there is someone specifically to maintain inventory and do the ordering for the pharmacy. It is just one small part of the entire hospital.

Ordering in bulk is significantly cheaper. That's why places like pet meds can sell Interceptor, frontline, etc. so much cheaper. I see the deals offered for buying 20+ of this or that. There is no way I could ever have a place to put that amount of product.

I commiserate that prices suck for meds...but there's a reason we charge so much for them. We're not out to get the client.

[Marty]

I never thought they were out to "get" the client, but I did think that Vets make a good profit from medications. Maybe I am mistaken...

The large internet stores are in a different league entirely, and cannot be compared to a local Vet, or even a chain pharmacy. In most pharmacies, it is one of the pharmacists that does the ordering...they know exactly what they have and what they need. BTW, I know what is involved with controlled drugs...I've seen it done sloppy and I've seen it done well. The sloppy ones either go out of business or get fired.

Well, back on subject...Java also needs anti=inflammatory eye drops. UGA charges $13 but my Vet charges $18. It isn't worth 4 hrs of gas and I will pay my Vet to get it for me....