April 2002

Bust High Drug Costs

By knowing your rights as a consumer—and what to watch out for when purchasing prescription drugs—you can save money.

Many of us monitor our horse’s health better ûthan our own. That does not mean we should ûthrow money away on drugs.

A lawyer might say it’s a conflict of interest for a person prescribing medications to also sell them, but it’s a fact of life in veterinary medicine. And it’s a good thing they do. Most human pharmacies don’t stock veterinary medications, so if the veterinarian didn’t carry the drug it wouldn’t be immediately available at the time the animal is treated.

However, many owners and trainers aren’t happy with this system, citing two general complaints:

1) A veterinarian may refuse to sell or order a medication without seeing the horse first, even if it’s a refill of a medication that has been in use, or won’t dispense a drug the owner/trainer considers…