Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) Advice to Practioners on Prescription Fees http://www.spvs.org.uk/new_site/v2/userfiles/file/SPVS%2

[Guest ESS]

cross posted of another forum thank you Ian

 

Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS)

 

Advice to Practioners on Prescription Fees

http://www.spvs.org.uk/new_site/v2/userfil...iption_Fees.pdf

 

 

Background from the Office of Fair Trading

 

Veterinary Prescriptions Charges is a matter reserved by the Westminster Government ie it is not a devolved issue. The 'Supply of Relevant Veterinary Medicinal Products Order 2005' (herein referred to as "the Order") implements recommendations in the Competition Commission's (CC) Report " Veterinary Medicines: A report on the supply within the United Kingdom of prescription- only veterinary medicines", published in April 2003. This report followed complaints by animal owners and farmers about what they perceived as the high price of prescription-only medicines for veterinary use (POM-Vs).

 

One of the findings in the CC's report was that the veterinary profession tended to understate the true cost of their professional services and offset this in their medicines pricing. This practice was found to cause two detrimental effects:

 

- veterinary surgeons can hide excess profits in drug prices

 

- inadequate pressure on manufacturers to maintain competitive drug prices

 

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) agreed to implement the majority of recommendations made by the CC through changes to its Guide to Professional Conduct. The Order implemented the remaining provisions: namely those aimed at manufacturers of POM-Vs and the recommendation that veterinary surgeons be prohibited from charging for prescriptions for three years. The Order imposes two main rules on vets. First, until 30 October 2008, vets must not charge clients for providing any prescriptions (whether they are for POM-Vs or for any other prescription products - including off-label human medicines). The rationale here was to provide impetus for the creation of a market for veterinary medicines away from veterinary surgeries. The CC felt strongly that a three year moratorium on prescription charges was essential to achieving this and would allow animal owners to become used to the availability of free prescriptions and encourage them to shop around. High prescription charges had been a barrier to customers doing this, but it was thought that a three-year prohibition would kick-start the market. We must now wait to see what happens after 30 October to see whether this has been the case. The availability of prescriptions was seen as the key element in opening up the POM-Vs market, increasing competitive pressure and driving prices down.

 

Vets may charge a consultation fee and a fee for deciding what medicine an animal should have. These are not fees for providing a prescription. If the client is unsure what a fee is for, they should ask their vet to clarify. RCVS guidance requires vets to be clear about what clients are being charged for.

 

The second rule imposed by the Order is that vets must not discriminate between those customers who are given a prescription and those who are not in:

 

- the charges for prescription-only veterinary medicines

 

- the fees charged for supplying veterinary services other than giving a prescription (including, for example, consultation and medicine determination fees).

 

This second rule continues indefinitely beyond 30 October 2008.

 

It is important to note that the Office of fair Trading (OFT) will not be reviewing the Order in October 2008. In particular, the free prescription period will not be extended beyond 30 October. The OFT will be monitoring developments after the prohibition on charging for providing prescriptions comes to an end at that time. It is a matter for the OFT to consider when and whether any further regulatory action may be needed to ensure effective competition in the supply of veterinary medicines.