We are aware that there is currently an apparent gulf between the cost of medication in veterinary practices compared to online pharmacies. This can result in clients feeling that their vets are “ripping them off” in some way. In reality, it is a comparison of two completely different business models.
At the minute, internet pharmacies can purchase medication in large bulk orders, direct from the drugs companies; have very low staffing and infrastructure costs; and, because they are sending the medication direct to the final user, have fewer regulations monitoring how they get that medication to owners. In contrast, veterinary practices, especially small independent businesses like ours, are too small to buy direct from the manufacturers and must purchase from a wholesaler. We do not get the manufacturer discounts that the internet pharmacies and big corporate veterinary clinics receive. Plus, as we are not the “end user”, the wholesalers must follow much stricter guidance with regards to storage and delivery of the medication to our clinics at a higher cost.
In addition, veterinary practices have much higher running costs. The income we generate needs to support reception, nursing and veterinary staff; high maintenance equipment and higher infrastructure costs. Traditionally, veterinary surgeries have tried to balance the generation of this income evenly across drug sales and consultation prices, but with the introduction of internet pharmacies that is beginning to shift. In some of the Scandinavian countries, vets no longer dispense anything other than emergency drugs. All other drugs go via prescription from a pharmacy, but to balance that they have had to vastly increase their professional fees to remain viable as a business. As this system also increases the number of businesses that need to be sustainable between “pet is unwell” to “pet is better”.
It will be interesting to see how things develop over the next 5-10 years in the UK, there will most likely be a shift in a similar direction over time unless a new model is developed. In the meantime, we appreciate that veterinary medicine is not cheap and would always recommend pet insurance to help alleviate any concerns.