The truth about pet meds that big pharma doesn't want you to know

Are you tired of shelling out big bucks for your pet's medications while knowing their human counterparts cost a fraction?

Tune in to this eye-opening episode where Dr. Alex Avery exposes the secrets of the pharmaceutical industry, reveals how stringent regulations handcuff your vet's prescribing options, and offers savvy tips to save on your furry friend's medical bills. 🐶💊🐱

From the shocking reality of the 'prescribing cascade' to legal minefields that could land your vet in hot water, we're pulling back the curtain on a topic every pet parent needs to know. Whether you’re a seasoned pet owner or a new fur parent, this is one episode you can’t afford to miss.

📢 **Highlights:**

- The dramatic price hikes in pet-specific medications

- Why your vet's options are more limited than you think

- Five actionable steps to get the best value on pet meds

Don't let high medication costs catch you off guard. Discover the secrets and save! 🌟

We took the notes for you at https://ourpetshealth.com/podcast/cheaper-pet-meds

Love the show? Sharing this episode or leaving a review helps others know it's worth a listen! - https://ourpetshealth.com/review

Transcript

0:00

I bet you're sick of the inflated price of veterinary drugs for your pets especially when you know that the cost of the same human drug is so much less. But did you know that your vet's prescribing recommendation could land them in jail? Welcome to the Call the Vet Show, The podcast that helps pet parents understand and optimize the health of their furry family so they can live the full and happy life you want for them. And here's your host, veterinarian doctor Alex Avery. Hello, Kiora, and welcome back to another episode of the show. This is such an important topic for all pet parents to be aware of. So hopefully, you'll get some really good information and some good tips about how to get cheap or cheaper drugs for your pet, which I discussed towards the end of this episode. But the reason that this is an issue is because very often vets are blamed for the high cost of drugs, but their hands are tied. And the threat of jail is not an over exaggeration, although the likelihood is is that's never going to happen. The legislation really is against you, the pet parent, getting the best value for money for the medication for your pet as I'll discuss today where I talk about the secrets of the pharmaceutical industry, how they are taking advantage of you and your vet, and then, like I say, how you can get your pet's medication for the most affordable price. But before we do jump into that, it's great to be spending some time with you again, and this is just your reminder that if you're not already following the show, hit that follow or subscribe button on whatever app you're listening to this on, maybe bookmark the website if you're listening to this at our pets health dot com or call the vet dot org. It takes you to the same page. And if you do get value from this episode and you feel that it will benefit other pet parents who are in a similar position to you, I'd love it if you could forward the link to friends or family or share this episode on whichever whichever social platform you choose to spend your time on. And with that out the way, let's jump in to today's episode. And now, on with the show. Now, back when I first graduated, we used to use a lot of human medications because there was a lack of pet specific options. Now they may not have been in the most pet friendly forms. After all, how many of us want to eat meat flavored pills? But they were generally very cheap, which meant that the cost of medications was often not so much of an issue. Now as time has gone on, more and more pharmaceutical companies have taken many of these long standing human drugs and released them in a pet friendly form or in a pet form at least. They've licensed them for use in our dogs and cats. Now in some cases this means they might have made the pill more palatable so it's easier to administer, they've made it smaller to make dosing more straightforward, or they've released a liquid version. In other cases, it means little more than slapping a picture of a dog or cat on the box and paying a registration fee to get it licensed. While this will vary, what doesn't vary is the huge increase in price that results from this change, often by a factor of 10 or more, and sometimes a whole lot more. And while this may make treatment easier, and in many cases, it has actually made treatment easier for many of us and less stressful for our pets, which is really important, the medication cost of treating our pets, especially for longer term conditions, has absolutely skyrocketed. And that's because I'm talking about drugs that are used to treat pretty much every single condition out there. Heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, constipation, epilepsy, infections, anxiety, even anesthetic drugs are involved in this. And you might be saying, well, so what? Vets, we should just prescribe these human versions because after all, they're no less effective now than they used to be back in the day. And and just forget about these animal versions. And absolutely, I hear you there, but this may actually mean that your vet loses their license to practice. In the UK, and there are similar prescribing rules in other countries, there is actually something called the prescribing cascade, which they have to follow, and this came into effect around 1995. The first step in this cascade is to use a veterinary medicine authorized for the use in that species for that condition. The second step, if there is no such product available, is to use a veterinary medicine authorized for the use in another species or for a different condition in that same species. 3rd step, if there's still no suitable product, is to use a medicine authorized for human use. And then the 4th step as a last resort is to use a medicine that has been specially prepared by a pharmacist, by a veterinary surgeon or a person holding an appropriate manufacturing authorization. And the issue here is that veterinarians they must follow these steps sequentially, moving to the next step only if there's no suitable product available at that previous step. So if there is a drug licensed for use in dogs, we have to use that product. We can't skip down to level 3 and use the human version of that drug even though the active ingredient is absolutely the same. And while there was some wriggle room to begin with, in about 2,005, it was specifically stated that cost was not a reason to move further down the cascade. And the bottom line here is that if there is a licensed veterinary form of a human drug, then your vet has no choice but to prescribe that version, not the human version. If they don't, then the consequences could really be quite severe and could include disciplinary measures from their regulatory bodies, such as the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the UK, the RCVS, which could include a fine, a suspension, or even revocation of their license to practice. The cascade makes it basically illegal for vets to use human medicines if there is a veterinary one licensed or use a special preparation if there's a human one available even if they are more expensive. Cost is not a deciding factor and never can be. So what about your dog with heart failure who needs furosemide or furosemide? Your vet, they can't dispense or write a prescription for the generic human version, which is cheap as chips. We've been using it forever and a day. We know it works. We know there's no concerns. No. They have to dispense or prescribe one of the licensed veterinary versions, which may make it easier to give. But you've got a Labrador who will eat absolutely anything. It's not a factor. It doesn't matter to you that it's easier to give. It's also significantly more expensive, but unfortunately, that cannot come into the decision making with which drug your vet prescribes. This might sound bad, but it actually gets even worse because new legislation means that it's now illegal for UK vets to promote or facilitate illegal off license use of medicines in animals, an offense that could result in your vet being sent to jail. But what does this actually mean? Well, let's say that your dog needs some paracetamol or acetaminophen as part of their long term arthritis treatment plan. It's a very effective option to add extra analgesia to keep them really comfortable. It would actually be illegal for your vet to just give you the dose and tell you to go and buy it from your local chemist. After all, for for human use, no prescription is needed. Instead, your vet would have to write you a prescription for you to be able to get those drugs. Now a different situation. Let's say your dog was having a mild allergic reaction out of hours and and your vet felt that an antihistamine tablet was all that was needed. It would now be a criminal offense to recommend, advise, or suggest that the client buy the human product for administering to that animal. Ridiculous? Well, I think so too. And who's driving these changes? Because it's certainly not the vets. It's the vets that get blamed, but it's certainly not the vets. In the UK, it's the veterinary medicines directorate or the VMD that regulates and enforces the veterinary medicine regulations. This is the same agency which ensures that vets are not allowed to purchase medications from human drug wholesalers and limit where they can source their drugs from. And the result of this is that in many cases, your vet won't even be able to buy a drug for the price that an online pharmacy is able to sell it to you for. And yet, it's the vets that are being blamed and investigated for the high cost of drugs. There's something really wrong here. All that being said, how can you get the most cost effective medication for your pet? Well, I've got 5 steps that you can take. The first step is to ask if there is a cheaper version of the same medication that you could give instead. Many drugs have kind of generic versions produced by different manufacturers that may be cheaper. Although the reality in the pet health space is that the cost difference is not nearly as great as it is with human generic medicines. For long term medications, ask for as much to be dispensed as your vet is happy to give you. This will cut down on additional dispensing fees. You know, maybe normally you get given a month supply and you have to come back every month to collect more medication, but your vet is actually happy for you to have 6 months without needing to check your pets. So just ask. Now this is going to vary with drug for example, I'm not allowed to give more than 1 month of some seizure seizure medication, and that is a legislative requirement. For other medications, I'd be more than happy to give you 6 months if that's what you wanted in one go. Step number 3 is to ask for a written prescription. Now there will be additional costs for this, but in most cases, in the vast majority of cases, the cost saving on the drug purchase is still going to make this a far cheaper option. And like I say, that's not your vet's fault. Remember, they often can't buy their drugs for their own pharmacy for the price that you can buy them at the online pharmacy. Step number 4 is to ask for the prescription to actually be for the active ingredient rather than the trade name. So for example, ask for it to be for carprofen rather than rimadil. And that's then going to allow you to shop around for the cheapest version available rather than being stuck with just one brand name option. One thing to be aware here is that some online pharmacies, they actually require it to be the the trade name on that prescription. Most though will allow the active ingredient and really will prefer it as well. And then the 5th way to get cheaper drugs for your pet is that if there is an over the counter human option, and clearly this isn't going to be the case for the majority of treatments, but there are a number of over the counter treatments that we do use. You also need to be sure it's the same with nothing potentially harmful added, for example, the sweetener xylitol or any additional active ingredients, but then just use that human version instead. Just don't expect your vet to get involved with any recommendation about this. Helping your pet live the happy, healthy life they deserve. So I hope this episode has given you some insight into this complicated topic and maybe some information that you weren't aware of and that might have changed your view of where some of the problems lie within the pet health space. I've spoken in previous episodes if you dive back, last one or maybe the one before that, about talking about some of the other issues within the pet health industry that we all need to be aware of so we can all work together. With that in mind, if you get value from this episode, and I really hope that you have, If you'd share this with any friends or family or on that social platform, I'd really appreciate it just to help me get the word out there to help more pet parents and to help more pets in need of good care. And so until the next episode, I'm veterinarian doctor Alex. This is the Call the Vet Show because they're family. That's it for this episode of the call the vet show. Be sure to visit call the vet dot org to join the conversation, access the show notes and discover our fantastic bonus content. We'll see you next time.