Pet Shots

[DrExperimento]

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I've been making rounds shadowing the retail pharmacists in my area, and have noticed lately that some chains have been offering immunizations for pets. Have you seen pharmacy moving in the direction of providing shots for pets as well as people?I thought veterinary medicine was a whole other ballgame.

If this has been discussed before, I apologize, I searched and couldn't find any threads about it. Thanks!🙂

 

[MountainPharmD]

I've been making rounds shadowing the retail pharmacists in my area, and have noticed lately that some chains have been offering immunizations for pets. Have you seen pharmacy moving in the direction of providing shots for pets as well as people?I thought veterinary medicine was a whole other ballgame.

If this has been discussed before, I apologize, I searched and couldn't find any threads about it. Thanks!🙂

I believe they have a vet come in and do the vaccinations. They are doing this to promote selling pet prescription medications. Most chains are now carring the most popular pet medications such as frontline, heartgard ect.

 

[Sparda29]

It's possibly a good niche to get into. From what I've seen, veternerians overcharge like crazy when they dispense medications from their office.

I had to pay $75 for a 15 mL bottle of Meloxicam suspension at a strength of 1 mg/mL.

 

[rxlea]

Hmmm.... I say why not? 🙂 As long as they are having a vet come in and take care of the vaccinations, it is a great way to get people into the pharmacy and to have scripts filled there for their pets. I agree with the above poster that it would be a good niche to get into, especially for independents. Granted, it may take away business from vets in private practice, so I can certainly see how this would be a problem for them.

I wonder what the vet people would say if you posted this in the vet forum. It would be an interesting discussion...

 

[SortingItOut]

Hmmm.... I say why not? 🙂 As long as they are having a vet come in and take care of the vaccinations, it is a great way to get people into the pharmacy and to have scripts filled there for their pets. I agree with the above poster that it would be a good niche to get into, especially for independents. Granted, it may take away business from vets in private practice, so I can certainly see how this would be a problem for them.

I wonder what the vet people would say if you posted this in the vet forum. It would be an interesting discussion...

One of my concerns is that by letting owners get vaccines at pharmacies, they bypass the crucial step of actually having the vet thoroughly examine the animal.

It sounds like Oregon's state veterinary board is already on this...
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=131294038262010000

 

[megandupe]

i've known many ppl to buy a vial of the vaccine and do the injection them self. Thats one of the great things about veterinary, you dont have to do with a la hipaa.

 

[Kansas Pharmer]

I wonder what the vet people would say if you posted this in the vet forum. It would be an interesting discussion...

I have actually posed this to my vet. He says when I get my PharmD, he would be more than happy to pare down his locker and let me stock if I stayed local. He says it would help his clients with costs and also help him with the hassle of the DEA.

Also, to address vaccs, it varies by state. In KS, anyone is allowed to give any vaccs except for rabies which has to be done by a DVM. This is only because of reporting and state database requirements. I think a couple of the neighboring states (OK, MO, TX) actually allow OTC rabies for pet owners (dont quote me though, its been a while since I looked into the other states statutes).

FYI - I breed racehorses so I try to give as many vaccs myself as possible. If I buy 10 dose vials, it costs me about 20% of what I would pay my vet to come out and do my herd.