Vet Fees

patria

Had to go to local vet with my dog. I was charged 130.00 for 20 mins consultation, one blood test and 7 days tabs. I was shocked when the assistant asked me for this amount for the consultation - its a total rip off. Before christmas my appointment with my GP cost 45.00, last more than 1/2 hour, he took 4 blood samples (got result 3 days later) and my prescription cost 14.95 - total cost 55.95. Please let me know what your experience of vets over charging are - this needs to go to Joe Duffy me thinks!!!

splinter65

patria wrote: »

Had to go to local vet with my dog. I was charged 130.00 for 20 mins consultation, one blood test and 7 days tabs. I was shocked when the assistant asked me for this amount for the consultation - its a total rip off. Before christmas my appointment with my GP cost 45.00, last more than 1/2 hour, he took 4 blood samples (got result 3 days later) and my prescription cost 14.95 - total cost 55.95. Please let me know what your experience of vets over charging are - this needs to go to Joe Duffy me thinks!!!

Did you ask before the consultation how much it would be?
How much do you think it should be?
The vet is running a private business and like any other private business he/she can charge anything they want.
You had a choice to avail of his/her services or find somewhere else to have your animal treated.
I don’t understand what you think Joe Duffy can do for you!
He can’t tell the vet how much to charge any more then you can.
Doctors can charge whatever they like too.
There’s no set fees for any private businesses.

cocker5

patria wrote: »

Had to go to local vet with my dog. I was charged 130.00 for 20 mins consultation, one blood test and 7 days tabs. I was shocked when the assistant asked me for this amount for the consultation - its a total rip off. Before christmas my appointment with my GP cost 45.00, last more than 1/2 hour, he took 4 blood samples (got result 3 days later) and my prescription cost 14.95 - total cost 55.95. Please let me know what your experience of vets over charging are - this needs to go to Joe Duffy me thinks!!!

Human bloods are tested in Labs / hospitals paid for by the HSE (i.e. free you are not charged for this).

Animal bloods are tested by an external lab if the vet is small and doesn't have the equipment internally.. there is a cost for this. ive had bloods on my dog before and this cost me over €150 just for the blood tests, €130 for blood test, plus an antibiotics and consultation fee isn't that bad if you ask me.

HONKEY TONK

patria wrote: »

Had to go to local vet with my dog. I was charged 130.00 for 20 mins consultation, one blood test and 7 days tabs. I was shocked when the assistant asked me for this amount for the consultation - its a total rip off. Before christmas my appointment with my GP cost 45.00, last more than 1/2 hour, he took 4 blood samples (got result 3 days later) and my prescription cost 14.95 - total cost 55.95. Please let me know what your experience of vets over charging are - this needs to go to Joe Duffy me thinks!!!

How old is your dog?

Did you have the dog since being a pup?

njs030

Why would you go to Joe Duffy?

You were charged for a consultation, blood tests and tablets. Three separate things.

You don't pay for your blood tests to be sent to the lab, analysed and returned, the hse do. Perhaps that's what you could talk to Joe Duffy about?

patria

Just to pick you up splinter65 on a couple of your points. Firstly, doctors can not charge what they like, the IMO sets a fees guide by which GP's abide. Perhaps the Vets Organisation might take this on board. Maybe this practice doesnt receive the large cheque each month from the state. Secondly I have had my other dogs seen at this vets practice during last year and the consultation charge was 40.00 at that time, the consultation fee has trebled. And as for Joe Duffy, his radio programme gives a voice where no other option remains to the "little people".

tk123

Have you an itemised bill from the vets with a breakdown of the charges.

I'm guessing around

40-50 - consultation
50 - bloods
30 - tablets

If you had insurance you would have paid €75-100 depending on your excess and claimed for the rest..


I wish my bills were only €130!!!! Also I wish my GP only charged €45!

cocker5

patria wrote: »

Just to pick you up splinter65 on a couple of your points. Firstly, doctors can not charge what they like, the IMO sets a fees guide by which GP's abide. Perhaps the Vets Organisation might take this on board. Maybe this practice doesnt receive the large cheque each month from the state. Secondly I have had my other dogs seen at this vets practice during last year and the consultation charge was 40.00 at that time, the consultation fee has trebled. And as for Joe Duffy, his radio programme gives a voice where no other option remains to the "little people".

With regard to GP’s my local one is €65.. my old one in Dublin was €75.. and my family one in Naas is €50... so they can charge what get like in fairness

splinter65

patria wrote: »

Just to pick you up splinter65 on a couple of your points. Firstly, doctors can not charge what they like, the IMO sets a fees guide by which GP's abide. Perhaps the Vets Organisation might take this on board. Maybe this practice doesnt receive the large cheque each month from the state. Secondly I have had my other dogs seen at this vets practice during last year and the consultation charge was 40.00 at that time, the consultation fee has trebled. And as for Joe Duffy, his radio programme gives a voice where no other option remains to the "little people".

The IMO may recommend charges to GPs but no GP providing private care to patient has to accept that recommendation and there are no set fees or charges for GP services in Ireland.
The Vet can treble or quadruple his charge if he likes and the fact remains that you had opportunity to ask him how much he was going to charge and take your business elsewhere.
But I’m not going to argue with you and I hope your dog is better soon.

patria

How flipant you are with your comments - any business you say can treble or quadruple their charges! I say, customer keep walking if they come across this behaviour as I intend to do if need be in the future. I have shared my recent experience with all my friends and family and advised them to be wary of this type of behaviour.

tk123

Can you post back when you're going to be talking to Joe please so we can all listen in?

Bells21

I wouldn't imagine it was €130 for a consultation, I would say there's a set consultation charge, a charge for the bloods and a charge for medication. Perhaps ask your vet for a breakdown of charges. I don't really see what the issue is, the vet provided a service and charged for it.

Dial Hard

patria wrote: »

How flipant you are with your comments - any business you say can treble or quadruple their charges! I say, customer keep walking if they come across this behaviour as I intend to do if need be in the future. I have shared my recent experience with all my friends and family and advised them to be wary of this type of behaviour.

But you don't actually know that the consultation fee has tripled or quadrupled - as tk123 has pointed out, it's likely that the consultation fee represents only a portion of what you paid. Would you not just ask the vet for a breakdown???

Ashbx

patria wrote: »

How flipant you are with your comments - any business you say can treble or quadruple their charges! I say, customer keep walking if they come across this behaviour as I intend to do if need be in the future. I have shared my recent experience with all my friends and family and advised them to be wary of this type of behaviour.

Well OP to be fair, if you asked the vet in advance what the fee was, you could have kept walking too!

Maybe you could look into the Irish Blue Cross (if you are eligible) if you are struggling to afford standard vet bills.

Alun

I've just taken our cat in for her annual vaccinations and some blood tests in connection with another issue. Also some medication albeit only €8 worth and that came to over €120. Of that, blood tests were €57 and vaccinations and health check were €52. From older receipts I have I see a standard consultation is €36.

HONKEY TONK

Alun wrote: »

I've just taken our cat in for her annual vaccinations and some blood tests in connection with another issue. Also some medication albeit only €8 worth and that came to over €120. Of that, blood tests were €57 and vaccinations and health check were €52. From older receipts I have I see a standard consultation is €36.

Ive seen the same

If you are bringing your dog for annual checkups and vaccines and the odd issue I would expect to see these cost yearly.

charliesilva

patria wrote: »

Had to go to local vet with my dog. I was charged 130.00 for 20 mins consultation, one blood test and 7 days tabs. I was shocked when the assistant asked me for this amount for the consultation - its a total rip off. Before christmas my appointment with my GP cost 45.00, last more than 1/2 hour, he took 4 blood samples (got result 3 days later) and my prescription cost 14.95 - total cost 55.95. Please let me know what your experience of vets over charging are - this needs to go to Joe Duffy me thinks!!!

It does seem a little but excessive but maybe your location is part of the reason... Vaccinations cost under €30 in Leitrim but nearly €60 in Dublin... location location location...

Grab All Association

Vet fees in Thurles cost me €64 (€50 consultation)
Then €140 for my other dog (emergency)

Vet fees in Borrisoleigh cost me nil but €10 for medication

Templemore cost me absolutely nothing as the vet called me instead on the phone and got the diagnosis spot on.

I’m future OP try shop around if you can. I know this may not be possible in emergencies but for everything else call and ask for pricing first. Some pharmacists sell veterinary medications too and are normally cheaper. For non major issues too if you can get outside of the city to an agricultural vet you’d save a whole lot of money.

ganmo

Ppl might be interested in this
http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/veterinary-council-confirms-rule-changes-to-ownership-of-practices/

It could have big repercussions

jesuischarlie

Hi Patria,
When a GP takes blood, the HSE pay the laboratory for the actual costs of running the sample. You are not paying for the blood test at all, the taxpayer is. When you have blood taken at a vets you need to pay either for the sample to be run on the premises or else sent to an external laboratory. This is not free. The average cost of a comprehensive blood test is around €100. The average veterinary consultation time is usually 10 minutes, some practices offer 15 minutes. The average consultation fee is €40. You got a bargain. Stop whinging.

airy fairy

My dog was put on long term medication a while back. Monthly charge was €60 for meds only, on prescription.
Found a reputable medical animal pharmacy online and in UK.
They quoted €30 per month, inc courier, for medication, once I forwarded prescription from my own vet.
Had trouble getting vet to supply me with prescription, but eventually did, (surprisingly suggested a generic brand he could give me which would be cheaper, why he couldn't do this in the first place!!).
Now I bring my dog for review, and vaccines etc to same vet, and renew my script every 6 months.
Ever wonder why some vets supply 'special' foods, you can buy the exact same product, package differently in your local Maxi Zoo. Just ask at counter!!
Moral to the story, I do think vets overcharge, pays to shop around, but bloods and consult aside, they mark up medication and 'special' foods for animals.

Alun

I agree, long term medication is a particular problem. My cat is on medication that costs €1.20 per tablet here, whereas I could get it online from the UK for 35p. That's a markup of 200%! I usually can't b bothered if it's just a handful of tablets, but for something she'll be on for the rest of her life, the extra cost is not insignificant.

I thought buying vet meds from the UK was, strictly speaking, illegal, or am I misinformed?

muddypaws

airy fairy wrote: »

My dog was put on long term medication a while back. Monthly charge was €60 for meds only, on prescription.
Found a reputable medical animal pharmacy online and in UK.
They quoted €30 per month, inc courier, for medication, once I forwarded prescription from my own vet.
Had trouble getting vet to supply me with prescription, but eventually did, (surprisingly suggested a generic brand he could give me which would be cheaper, why he couldn't do this in the first place!!).
Now I bring my dog for review, and vaccines etc to same vet, and renew my script every 6 months.
Ever wonder why some vets supply 'special' foods, you can buy the exact same product, package differently in your local Maxi Zoo. Just ask at counter!!
Moral to the story, I do think vets overcharge, pays to shop around, but bloods and consult aside, they mark up medication and 'special' foods for animals.

As far as I'm aware, it's illegal to acquire certain medications outside of the state, and for vets to give prescriptions for them, medications with a legal category of POM-V, POM or POM-VPS.

Also, shops such as Maxi-Zoo don't sell prescription foods, they may well sell similar but they aren't the same.

Ashbx

muddypaws wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, it's illegal to acquire certain medications outside of the state, and for vets to give prescriptions for them, medications with a legal category of POM-V, POM or POM-VPS.

Also, shops such as Maxi-Zoo don't sell prescription foods, they may well sell similar but they aren't the same.

My dog was put on special food for renal failure and I was able to get it on zooplus.ie....however it is the only place I have found it being sold other than my vets.

tk123

Ashbx wrote: »

My dog was put on special food for renal failure and I was able to get it on zooplus.ie....however it is the only place I have found it being sold other than my vets.

Afaik MaxiZoo stock a brand that does the same kind of thing e.g. one for kidneys, joints etc etc

VonVix

tk123 wrote: »

Afaik MaxiZoo stock a brand that does the same kind of thing e.g. one for kidneys, joints etc etc

I think it might be called Medica?

Mooooo

The difference between Ireland and the UK is bad across most pharmaceutical products not just veterinary stuff. 're the foods and that unless there is a POM in it it should be able to be got from anywhere, some places may stock POM once you get a prescription but not all.

airy fairy

Just for the record, I said in my post that 'special' foods supplied by vet can also be got in the likes of Maxi Zoo, I said special foods, not prescription foods.
I am getting my prescription meds for my dog from a reputable vet/medical supplies company from UK/NI. I can't ignore the fact that I'm getting it for a fraction of the cost than I would of I were to get it my own vet here, my own vet could not dispute it either.
I also think that med licences for animals need to be given to stand-alone pharmacists and not let the vet have full control of the sale of meds. A doctor cannot do it, I can chose where I shop for my own prescription meds, I think it should be the same for animals.

em_cat

airy fairy wrote: »

Just for the record, I said in my post that 'special' foods supplied by vet can also be got in the likes of Maxi Zoo, I said special foods, not prescription foods.
I am getting my prescription meds for my dog from a reputable vet/medical supplies company from UK/NI. I can't ignore the fact that I'm getting it for a fraction of the cost than I would of I were to get it my own vet here, my own vet could not dispute it either.
I also think that med licences for animals need to be given to stand-alone pharmacists and not let the vet have full control of the sale of meds. A doctor cannot do it, I can chose where I shop for my own prescription meds, I think it should be the same for animals.

Our vet always tells us when we can access meds via pharmacy versus getting them through them. Say for, instance buscapan, he then gives us the dosage instructions for Mr C's weight.

I know that people are polarised when it comes to pet insurance, but one thing I found was that special diets or vet prescription diets food is reimbursable through it along with direct payment for diagnostic and surgical interventions.

I agree that some Vets are prone to overcharging for some things, but then I worked in one for a few years and can sympathise with why on things like OTC supplies and food stocks.

Plus one has to remember that most local vet practices can't compete with the large supermarket pet stores financially.

Op, as it has been already mentioned, ultimately it is your job to shop around.

Mooooo

airy fairy wrote: »

Just for the record, I said in my post that 'special' foods supplied by vet can also be got in the likes of Maxi Zoo, I said special foods, not prescription foods.
I am getting my prescription meds for my dog from a reputable vet/medical supplies company from UK/NI. I can't ignore the fact that I'm getting it for a fraction of the cost than I would of I were to get it my own vet here, my own vet could not dispute it either.
I also think that med licences for animals need to be given to stand-alone pharmacists and not let the vet have full control of the sale of meds. A doctor cannot do it, I can chose where I shop for my own prescription meds, I think it should be the same for animals.

Have often gotten prescriptions and gone to pharmacy, coops, other sellers. Vet can't stop you from doing that, they may well try to convince you to buy in house just stand your ground or change vet. No harm to price around occasionally the vet can be cheaper, rare enough tho

florawest

airy fairy wrote: »

My dog was put on long term medication a while back. Monthly charge was €60 for meds only, on prescription.
Found a reputable medical animal pharmacy online and in UK.
They quoted €30 per month, inc courier, for medication, once I forwarded prescription from my own vet.
Had trouble getting vet to supply me with prescription, but eventually did, (surprisingly suggested a generic brand he could give me which would be cheaper, why he couldn't do this in the first place!!).
Now I bring my dog for review, and vaccines etc to same vet, and renew my script every 6 months.
Ever wonder why some vets supply 'special' foods, you can buy the exact same product, package differently in your local Maxi Zoo. Just ask at counter!!
Moral to the story, I do think vets overcharge, pays to shop around, but bloods and consult aside, they mark up medication and 'special' foods for animals.

Hi ya,

Sorry for dragging up an old post, but currently my old beautiful labrador needs ongoing monthly medication ( had bloods and xray done at cost €200) and it is costing me €85 a month, have 2 months done but can't afford it long term, I got a prescription from my vet and would love to know where to buy it cheaper on line, oh and got one prescription only.

Thank you.