Vets, Rxs and online pharmacies?

[Cali S]

I tend to shop around to find the best deal I can for pet meds, and oftentimes that leads me to various online pharmacies.

I just ordered some meds for some of the other furry members of my household and got a message back from my vet saying that while they sent over the Rx this one time, in the future, I would have to get a paper rx from them or use their online pharmacy.

Seems sketchy? They claim it's because in my state (GA) the Board of Pharmacy says that vets should only prescribe using paper prescriptions because of issues with forgery.

We didn't have this issue with the lantus Rx for Faraday, which they happily emailed me a pdf of to send on to Canada/walk over to the local pharmacy, probably because they don't sell lantus in their personal online pharmacy.

My vet practice recently changed hands from the old vet who ran the place, and I' curious if this is just something that's becoming more commonplace, or if they're just trying to make us spend $$$ at their own online pharmacy.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I haven't heard anyone mention it. There's a possibility with a medication like buprenorphine, which is a narcotic, that it can be an issue. However, having a paper prescription hasn't solved the problem. In fact, most MDs use e-prescriptions for just that reason.

Frankly, get the paper Rx. You can always fax or send a pdf. Mark's Marine Pharmacy, where many of our members get their Lantus, will accept either.

And I suspect that your vet wants you to give them your money. If it were me, I'd call the GA Board of Pharmacy and see if the vet understands the regulations -- or ask a local pharmacist. I could sort of see the point if it was an animal only medication (e.g., Prozinc) but unless the vet can beat the price from Chewy's, why would you use their office. There's no way a veterinary practice can stock the medications that are also used for humans but are not frequently prescribed for our companions.

 

[Roxana & Henry]

I live in GA as well and never heard of this. Chewy does not accept my pdf versions and calls the vet for my syringes for example . Another vet sends electronic prescriptions for my Libre to Walgreens. She prefers it this way strangely enough. For Lantus I used the pdf at Walgreens because my other vet gave me the pdf . I always get the pdf and try to use it where it’s more convenient to me and if they say no we have to check with your vet so be it. They can call the vet. I make sure the prescription says it allows for refills. I suspect they don’t want to be bothered sending prescriptions electronically often. Or they want to make money like you said. Maybe it’s time to change the vet lol unless you really like them. I would recommend a feline specialist if you have one in your area. I saw a huge difference in expertise between my regular vet and my cat only vet as it relates to feline diabetes. I had to travel 30 min to see one but it saved my cats life to be honest because she directed me to this site and gave me tons of info on diabetes. She is the only vet I have seen who cares about nutrition. For example she feeds her cats a raw only diet. Just something to think about.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

While undesirable I find nothing wrong with either filling script at the vet's pharmacy or giving you a paper script.
Thee are different/strict requirements for controlled drugs like Buprenorphine.Each state can have different requirements for controlled drugs and can even define a drug is controlled when it is not controlled by the fed. An example is gabapentin in Virginia. A few years ago Virginia made it a schedule V drug and had to use a paper script, only issue 6 months works of the drug and if still need had to have dr/vet visit every six months. Later Virginia allowed electronic script. However, this year Virginia now requires a new script every month for gabapentin.

 

[Cali S]

I

While undesirable I find nothing wrong with either filling script at the vet's pharmacy or giving you a paper script.
Thee are different/strict requirements for controlled drugs like Buprenorphine.Each state can have different requirements for controlled drugs and can even define a drug is controlled when it is not controlled by the fed. An example is gabapentin in Virginia. A few years ago Virginia made it a schedule V drug and had to use a paper script, only issue 6 months works of the drug and if still need had to have dr/vet visit every six months. Later Virginia allowed electronic script. However, this year Virginia now requires a new script every month for gabapentin.

I certainly understand it for controlled substances, but this is just for heartworm meds. And I get that this is just how they’ve decided to do business, I was more wondering how common this is.

I have one local animal owner friend who says there vet does the same thing, so maybe it is becoming more of a thing.