Prescription Policies and Information
Prescription Reorder Policy:
Please give us 24-48 hours to refill your pet's prescription. If your pet has special order medication such as compounded medications, it may take as long as 1 week to receive your refill. If there are no other requests from the Compounding Pharmacy at the same time; the Pharmacy might charge a shipping fee. Please be sure to confirm the type of medication and the dosage you have been giving to your pet.
Before a refill is approved your pet must have had a full physical health exam with a veterinarian within the last year. If your pet's prescription was for medications involved in hormonal conditions such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, cushing's, or addison's blood work may be required prior to refill. This depends on how long your pet has been on the medication and any concurrent health issues. These blood tests are to ensure we are not overdosing or under dosing your pet. Since many animals with the incorrect dosing is not identifiable by the owners. We often do not know until the animal develops worsening of the disease and we can no longer treat or reverse the process.
Medications that treat infections such as ear infections and skin infections will need to be seen for each event as dosing can change and topical therapy may be implemented before oral therapy etc. Other allergy medications may require an exam because if there is a concurrent infection they can make the infection worse. For ears we need to see what bugs are brewing in the ears to prevent resistances and to prevent ear drum trauma if we can.
Excerpt from College of Veterinarians of BC:
Prescribing
"A valid veterinarian-client-patient-relationship must exist before a veterinarian can prescribe or dispense a medication for your pet. This is referred to as the VCPR and it is required by law. The VCPR usually involves face-to-face communication and an exam of your pet, which allows your veterinarian to determine the health status of your pet before making any treatment recommendations. "
Costs of Veterinary Prescriptions:
We understand that veterinary medicine is expensive and that veterinary medications are often more costly than human equivalents. We hear this question at least several times a month so do not feel uncomfortable that you are questioning this because many people do. We hope that this information helps to understand the cost differences.
Firstly, Canada has a universal health plan; the Canadian government looks at the lowest and highest cost medications and sets a fee that they tell the drug company they will pay and no more. If the drug company wants to sell in Canada they adhere to this price, but only for the human field. Also, veterinarians can only buy their medications through buying groups and not directly from the wholesaler in most cases and therefore must pay the middle man fees. Veterinarians also have limited buying power compared to the human market. The cost to make veterinary drugs for drug companies are often much more than for human because the drugs are often flavored and this requires special machinery to make the pills or liquid.
Written/Phone Prescriptions:
By law it is within your legal rights to ask for a written/phone in prescription. You are free at this time to take it to who you wish; a human pharmacy or online pharmacy. We must warn you that both these things has their risks. There are some instances where the drug is too obscure for us to carry all the time or there is only a human alternative. We do charge a prescription writing fee, the veterinarian must look and calculate dosing based on your pets needs.
WHY NOT written/phone in scripts:
1) Human pharmacists are so used to prescribing human doses and human drugs that they mistakenly miss read or misinterpret or just plain ignore a animal's prescription because from their prospective the dose is completely wrong. We have had incidents of a very small pet requiring 0.5 ml (this was clear on the prescription) getting their medication from a pharmacy with 5 ml. We have an insulin dose of 1 unit be sent home as 10 units and the wrong sized syringes sold for a veterinary insulin. In some cases there was only results such as diarrhea or vomiting but we have had diabetics almost die and have large bills to get them back to health.
SCENARIO #1: excerpt from the College of Pharmacists
Mrs. KL approaches pharmacist MP on his Saturday evening shift. She explains that she has run out of her syringes to administer insulin to her beagle, Beetle. MP has often dispensed prescriptions from the local vet for both insulin and syringes. Based on Beetle's 5 unit BID dose, MP provides Mrs KL with BD 3/10cc syringes.
How could this interaction put Beetle's health at risk? Pharmacists are accustomed to insulin being 100 U/mL. Many veterinary patients are prescribed human insulin. Others, like Beetle, use veterinary-only Caninsulin (porcine insulin zinc), which is 40 U/mL. Caninsulin syringes are calibrated to 40 U/mL. When Mrs KL draws Caninsulin to the "5 units" mark on the BD syringe, Beetle will receive only 40% of the correct insulin dose.
2) Veterinary medications are often different formulations. They either have different concentrations of drug or they are designed to be absorbed by the animal gut and not human (different Ph, stomach acid amounts, different propensity to stomach upset, etc.)
SCENARIO #2:excerpt from the College of Pharmacists
Client JD presents a prescription for his dog, Spot, for Clavamox 250mg tablets. He requested a prescription from his veterinarian because he heard that it was less expensive at a community pharmacy. The pharmacist, AB, investigates, and finds that, as the brand name suggests, Clavamox is a veterinary drug containing amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. She informs JD that she doesn't carry the brand that the vet has prescribed, but will substitute the human generic amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 250 mg tablet.
How could this interaction put Spot's health at risk?Veterinary labelled amoxicillin-clavulanic acid tablets contain the two ingredients in different ratios than human-approved products. Clavamox 250mg contains 200-50 (250mg refers to the total of BOTH compounds), while human generics contain 250-125 (250mg refers to amoxicillin content only). Spot was dispensed 50mg more amoxicillin and 75 mg more clavulanic acid per dose than he was prescribed. Although 50 mg of extra amoxicillin may not be clinically relevant, the higher dose of clavulanic acid places Spot at higher risk of GI side effects. In addition to veterinary labelled drugs, species-specific pharmacokinetics and toxicities complicate the provision of care to animals.
Health Canada’s Policy on extra label drug use (ELDU) in Animals • (This means drugs not specifically licensed and tested in a species).
ELDU should be avoided unless no other alternative therapy exists • The primary concern is that drugs which are used in animals are safe to both animals and (the) human handling those drugs • The administration of drugs to food animals must not result in residues which are dangerous for humans consuming food derived from those animals. • Potential occupational hazards should also be assessed and addressed in decisions involving extra-label drug use. • (There are) concerns regarding the risk of adverse reactions to ELDU, and that drugs selected may not be effective in the clinical situation. • The professional abilities of veterinarians, and their right to prescribe drugs to be used in an ELDU manner in animals is recognized • It is further recognized that there will be instances where it will be necessary for drugs to be used in an extra-label manner. • It is also important to have established a veterinarian/client/patient relationship when distributing drugs especially if it is recommended that drugs are to be used extra-label. This assumes that the practitioner assumes the responsibility for clinical judgments, and has sufficient knowledge of the animals to make the diagnosis, recommend treatment and be available for follow-up evaluations
3) On line Pharmacies: - are not regulated in Canada, so it is buyer beware. There has been incidence of medication from foreign countries where regulations are non existing. In these countries we can not even be sure it is the drug at all, or it is not so old that it even works. There has been a few incidences of toxicity and poisoning or drugs not working and animals getting sicker and sicker. The only online pharmacies that are regulated are on line pharmacies that are connected to a physical pharmacy i.e. Shopper's Drug mart etc.
Health Canada: Buying drugs over the internet:
If you buy drugs on line, you may be putting your pets health at serious risk. This is especially true if you order prescription drugs without being examined in person by a health care practitioner.
A simple Internet search will turn up hundreds of Web sites that sell drugs. Some Internet pharmacies are legitimate, but many offer products and services that are dangerous. Some sell drugs that are not approved for use in Canada because of safety concerns. Some take advantage of people desperate for relief by offering "miracle cures" for serious illnesses like cancer. Many offer prescription drugs based on answers to an on-line questionnaire.
Please give us 24-48 hours to refill your pet's prescription. If your pet has special order medication such as compounded medications, it may take as long as 1 week to receive your refill. If there are no other requests from the Compounding Pharmacy at the same time; the Pharmacy might charge a shipping fee. Please be sure to confirm the type of medication and the dosage you have been giving to your pet.
Before a refill is approved your pet must have had a full physical health exam with a veterinarian within the last year. If your pet's prescription was for medications involved in hormonal conditions such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, cushing's, or addison's blood work may be required prior to refill. This depends on how long your pet has been on the medication and any concurrent health issues. These blood tests are to ensure we are not overdosing or under dosing your pet. Since many animals with the incorrect dosing is not identifiable by the owners. We often do not know until the animal develops worsening of the disease and we can no longer treat or reverse the process.
Medications that treat infections such as ear infections and skin infections will need to be seen for each event as dosing can change and topical therapy may be implemented before oral therapy etc. Other allergy medications may require an exam because if there is a concurrent infection they can make the infection worse. For ears we need to see what bugs are brewing in the ears to prevent resistances and to prevent ear drum trauma if we can.
Excerpt from College of Veterinarians of BC:
Prescribing
"A valid veterinarian-client-patient-relationship must exist before a veterinarian can prescribe or dispense a medication for your pet. This is referred to as the VCPR and it is required by law. The VCPR usually involves face-to-face communication and an exam of your pet, which allows your veterinarian to determine the health status of your pet before making any treatment recommendations. "
Costs of Veterinary Prescriptions:
We understand that veterinary medicine is expensive and that veterinary medications are often more costly than human equivalents. We hear this question at least several times a month so do not feel uncomfortable that you are questioning this because many people do. We hope that this information helps to understand the cost differences.
Firstly, Canada has a universal health plan; the Canadian government looks at the lowest and highest cost medications and sets a fee that they tell the drug company they will pay and no more. If the drug company wants to sell in Canada they adhere to this price, but only for the human field. Also, veterinarians can only buy their medications through buying groups and not directly from the wholesaler in most cases and therefore must pay the middle man fees. Veterinarians also have limited buying power compared to the human market. The cost to make veterinary drugs for drug companies are often much more than for human because the drugs are often flavored and this requires special machinery to make the pills or liquid.
Written/Phone Prescriptions:
By law it is within your legal rights to ask for a written/phone in prescription. You are free at this time to take it to who you wish; a human pharmacy or online pharmacy. We must warn you that both these things has their risks. There are some instances where the drug is too obscure for us to carry all the time or there is only a human alternative. We do charge a prescription writing fee, the veterinarian must look and calculate dosing based on your pets needs.
WHY NOT written/phone in scripts:
1) Human pharmacists are so used to prescribing human doses and human drugs that they mistakenly miss read or misinterpret or just plain ignore a animal's prescription because from their prospective the dose is completely wrong. We have had incidents of a very small pet requiring 0.5 ml (this was clear on the prescription) getting their medication from a pharmacy with 5 ml. We have an insulin dose of 1 unit be sent home as 10 units and the wrong sized syringes sold for a veterinary insulin. In some cases there was only results such as diarrhea or vomiting but we have had diabetics almost die and have large bills to get them back to health.
SCENARIO #1: excerpt from the College of Pharmacists
Mrs. KL approaches pharmacist MP on his Saturday evening shift. She explains that she has run out of her syringes to administer insulin to her beagle, Beetle. MP has often dispensed prescriptions from the local vet for both insulin and syringes. Based on Beetle's 5 unit BID dose, MP provides Mrs KL with BD 3/10cc syringes.
How could this interaction put Beetle's health at risk? Pharmacists are accustomed to insulin being 100 U/mL. Many veterinary patients are prescribed human insulin. Others, like Beetle, use veterinary-only Caninsulin (porcine insulin zinc), which is 40 U/mL. Caninsulin syringes are calibrated to 40 U/mL. When Mrs KL draws Caninsulin to the "5 units" mark on the BD syringe, Beetle will receive only 40% of the correct insulin dose.
2) Veterinary medications are often different formulations. They either have different concentrations of drug or they are designed to be absorbed by the animal gut and not human (different Ph, stomach acid amounts, different propensity to stomach upset, etc.)
SCENARIO #2:excerpt from the College of Pharmacists
Client JD presents a prescription for his dog, Spot, for Clavamox 250mg tablets. He requested a prescription from his veterinarian because he heard that it was less expensive at a community pharmacy. The pharmacist, AB, investigates, and finds that, as the brand name suggests, Clavamox is a veterinary drug containing amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. She informs JD that she doesn't carry the brand that the vet has prescribed, but will substitute the human generic amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 250 mg tablet.
How could this interaction put Spot's health at risk?Veterinary labelled amoxicillin-clavulanic acid tablets contain the two ingredients in different ratios than human-approved products. Clavamox 250mg contains 200-50 (250mg refers to the total of BOTH compounds), while human generics contain 250-125 (250mg refers to amoxicillin content only). Spot was dispensed 50mg more amoxicillin and 75 mg more clavulanic acid per dose than he was prescribed. Although 50 mg of extra amoxicillin may not be clinically relevant, the higher dose of clavulanic acid places Spot at higher risk of GI side effects. In addition to veterinary labelled drugs, species-specific pharmacokinetics and toxicities complicate the provision of care to animals.
Health Canada’s Policy on extra label drug use (ELDU) in Animals • (This means drugs not specifically licensed and tested in a species).
ELDU should be avoided unless no other alternative therapy exists • The primary concern is that drugs which are used in animals are safe to both animals and (the) human handling those drugs • The administration of drugs to food animals must not result in residues which are dangerous for humans consuming food derived from those animals. • Potential occupational hazards should also be assessed and addressed in decisions involving extra-label drug use. • (There are) concerns regarding the risk of adverse reactions to ELDU, and that drugs selected may not be effective in the clinical situation. • The professional abilities of veterinarians, and their right to prescribe drugs to be used in an ELDU manner in animals is recognized • It is further recognized that there will be instances where it will be necessary for drugs to be used in an extra-label manner. • It is also important to have established a veterinarian/client/patient relationship when distributing drugs especially if it is recommended that drugs are to be used extra-label. This assumes that the practitioner assumes the responsibility for clinical judgments, and has sufficient knowledge of the animals to make the diagnosis, recommend treatment and be available for follow-up evaluations
3) On line Pharmacies: - are not regulated in Canada, so it is buyer beware. There has been incidence of medication from foreign countries where regulations are non existing. In these countries we can not even be sure it is the drug at all, or it is not so old that it even works. There has been a few incidences of toxicity and poisoning or drugs not working and animals getting sicker and sicker. The only online pharmacies that are regulated are on line pharmacies that are connected to a physical pharmacy i.e. Shopper's Drug mart etc.
Health Canada: Buying drugs over the internet:
If you buy drugs on line, you may be putting your pets health at serious risk. This is especially true if you order prescription drugs without being examined in person by a health care practitioner.
A simple Internet search will turn up hundreds of Web sites that sell drugs. Some Internet pharmacies are legitimate, but many offer products and services that are dangerous. Some sell drugs that are not approved for use in Canada because of safety concerns. Some take advantage of people desperate for relief by offering "miracle cures" for serious illnesses like cancer. Many offer prescription drugs based on answers to an on-line questionnaire.
