Key Findings of the report:

The 2003 Competition Commission report to Parliament highlighted that prescription-only veterinary medicines (POMs) were predominantly supplied by manufacturers to veterinary surgeries via veterinary wholesalers and sold by veterinary surgeons to animal owners.

It focused on this chain of supply and on the ability of pharmacies to compete with veterinary surgeons at the retail level.

The report found three complex monopoly situations and proposed that these situations prevented, restricted, or distorted competition indicating a lack of competition in the veterinary medicines market.

The Commission made a number of recommendations including:

·         alternative sources of supply to offer effective competition to the veterinary surgeons

·         an increase in the availability of prescriptions from veterinary surgeons

·         power to allow pharmacies to supply POMs

·         transparency in the information available animal owners to allow them to understand and compare prices

The impact on veterinary surgeons

The Supply of Relevant Veterinary Medicinal Products Order 2005 implemented the 'no-prescription fee' legislation from the Dti and came into effect on the 31st October 2005.

For a period of three years (October 2005 to October 2008) veterinary surgeons were required to provide a veterinary prescription for no additional charge to the client beyond the cost of a clinical assessment or consultation.

As of the 1st November 2008 veterinary surgeons can charge for providing prescriptions.  The level at which a fee is set is a business decision for members, however SPVS working with BVA have produced advice including sample charging mechanisms.

Click on the following link for more information:

http://www.spvs.org.uk/new_site/v2/userfiles/file/SPVS%20Advice%20on%20Prescription_Fees.pdf