Walking round Tesco today I noticed among the medications Ibuprofen, Tesco "own brand" 16 pills for 23p on the next shelf Nurofen (which is just a branded Ibuprofen) £2.10 for 16 pills. Both were 200mg pills. Similar mark ups for similar products like paracetamol/Panadol and aspirin.

Are there that many stupid eejits that will pay nearly 10 times more just for a brand name? How can the maker  justify such a mark up? I doubt advertising costs would make such a difference.

I believe that in USA the pharmaceutical companies have managed to ban the sale of "generic" versions, so many of those "in the know" purchase them from Canada.

Those with Cash&Carry cards stock up on the generic at wholesale process 

I agree that brand process are mad - but hey, everyone to their own ...

I suffer quite badly from hay fever but avoid the branded named anti histamines and go for the cheapo Tesco ones - £2.50 for a months supply which is at least ½ the price of the others.

Never mind the cost of the odd painkiller for us humans...

What about the prices for pills for pets!!!

I spend £35 a month for pills for my beautiful greyhound to help with her arthritis. What a con!! Even on line they are expensive and you have to go through the hassle of getting a vets prescription before you can buy them online.

Bob Austin

It may be costly , but like most dog lovers you'd pay the earth to help your pet.
Have you tried Vitapet RA , a fish oil based  food supplement  for joints?

Anyway I wish your dog all the best and hope she doesn't suffer too much pain.

Quote from: austinbob on October 23, 2014, 08:22:17 PM
Never mind the cost of the odd painkiller for us humans...

What about the prices for pills for pets!!!

I spend £35 a month for pills for my beautiful greyhound to help with her arthritis. What a con!! Even on line they are expensive and you have to go through the hassle of getting a vets prescription before you can buy them online.

Bob Austin

Bob. can you get one prescription to cover a repeat order  ?  Living in Italy meds are stupid prices so we ordered through a UK company with a one off prescription this ran for over 2 years.

Jerry

Quote from: Dorsetmike on October 23, 2014, 06:49:14 PM
I believe that in USA the pharmaceutical companies have managed to ban the sale of "generic" versions, so many of those "in the know" purchase them from Canada.

Generics are not banned here.  As in most of the developed world, generics are not permitted until the patent "runs out" or is overturned.  Since each country runs its own patent system, generics will hit the market at different times in different countries.  Here in the US, the generics companies are rewarded for overturning patents early by getting exclusivity for their generic for IIRC 6 months, during which time they try to sell at or close to the branded price.  After the exclusivity period, more generic companies come in and the price drops to one more in line with the cost to manufacture.

The issue with Canadian drugs is that the price of a drug is set for each market by the pharma company, and is usually negotiated by the main payer, which for Canada is the government.  In the US, it's the individual insurance company, which leads to bizarre pricing practices.  Example is a 90-day supply of a generic for my wife...USD3 out of our pocket (10% co-pay), USD27 from the insurance company (90% payment of the negotiated price) and a billing from the pharmacy of USD1858.00!!!  Some poor fool is probably being asked to pay the high number, and those are the ones that look to internet pharmacies and to Canada (and hope they don't get a counterfeit drug).

Quote from: Jerry Howlett on October 23, 2014, 08:52:16 PM

Quote from: austinbob on October 23, 2014, 08:22:17 PM
Never mind the cost of the odd painkiller for us humans...

What about the prices for pills for pets!!!

I spend £35 a month for pills for my beautiful greyhound to help with her arthritis. What a con!! Even on line they are expensive and you have to go through the hassle of getting a vets prescription before you can buy them online.

Bob Austin

Bob. can you get one prescription to cover a repeat order  ?  Living in Italy meds are stupid prices so we ordered through a UK company with a one off prescription this ran for over 2 years.

Jerry

I would have to get a prescription from the vet every time I want to get pills. The vet charges for every prescription!!  Can be very costly.

Bob Austin

Quote from: austinbob on October 23, 2014, 08:22:17 PM
Never mind the cost of the odd painkiller for us humans...

What about the prices for pills for pets!!!

I spend £35 a month for pills for my beautiful greyhound to help with her arthritis. What a con!! Even on line they are expensive and you have to go through the hassle of getting a vets prescription before you can buy them online.

Bob Austin

My wife happens to be a vet and one of the most difficult problems in the industry is the widespread belief that vets 'con' or 'rip people off' because their treatment is expensive.  I know that you weren't saying that, only commenting that the medicine is expensive and I'm not trying to twist your words.  I'm just concerned that I can see the direction this thread is heading in to perhaps I can jump in with some of the facts of the economics of veterinary medicine:

• Vets and vet nurses are not well paid.  The average starting wage for a vet is no higher than any other technical profession, despite the qualification taking twice as long.  A vet with an equivalent level of qualification to a GP gets paid between 30% and 50% as much.  That's despite the fact that most vets also do a LOT more than making a binary choice between sending you home with antibiotics or referring you to a consultant.  How many GPs can do complex surgery, imaging, oncology, endocrinology, etc as well as all the routine stuff (and can do it for several different species)?
• Just because an NHS prescription costs a few pounds does not mean that that's the cost of the medicine.  The NHS has the same prescription charge regardless of whether a drug costs £100 a year or £10,000 a year.  Vets aren't subsidised by the taxpayer so have to charge you what the drug companies charge them.
• Most vet practices struggle financially
• Most vet practices put almost no markup on pharmaceuticals, because it's impossible to maintain a profit margin when there's nothing to differentiate one practice over another - most vets make their profit on the service they provide, not the pills they sell.
• You pay similar amounts of money per minute's work for a vet to do surgery as you do for a plumber or electrician to work on your house
• Most people in the UK simply have no idea what it actually costs to have medical treatment.  I suggest you look up what private doctors charge in countries without public health (the USA):  That's a fair reflection of how much it actually costs to deliver medical treatment.  Then ask yourself again whether your vet is expensive.  Alternatively, consider how much it costs to get treatment on the NHS... then add about 20% of ALL THE TAX YOU PAY and you'll have a more realistic number

So, please everyone, cut your vet a break.  They aren't in it for the money - you only have to look at the staff parking spaces outside to realise that!  They work extremely hard in a stressful job at all hours of the day and night. They do it because they want to help you and your animal.  All most of them ask is enough money to keep the doors open and the lights on for the next time you visit.

I'm wondering where this discussion is going.... don't know if I'm talkin' humans or labradors 

Quote from: Rabs on October 24, 2014, 08:52:27 AM
Most people in the UK simply have no idea what it actually costs to have medical treatment.  I suggest you look up what private doctors charge in countries without public health (the USA)

I'd suggest looking at other countries. The US prices are way higher than anywhere else because of their bizarre setup.  The comparison is also a bit dubious because human health services spend stupendous amounts of money keeping near dead people not dead (often when they'd rather be dead) while vets put animals down in such cases - which must suck as a job.

The point still stands though - as does the wisdom of pet insurance.

Alan

Quote from: EtchedPixels on October 24, 2014, 09:59:31 AM

Quote from: Rabs on October 24, 2014, 08:52:27 AM
Most people in the UK simply have no idea what it actually costs to have medical treatment.  I suggest you look up what private doctors charge in countries without public health (the USA)

I'd suggest looking at other countries. The US prices are way higher than anywhere else because of their bizarre setup.  The comparison is also a bit dubious because human health services spend stupendous amounts of money keeping near dead people not dead (often when they'd rather be dead) while vets put animals down in such cases - which must suck as a job.

The point still stands though - as does the wisdom of pet insurance.

Alan

A good point - I wasn't suggesting that people compare the total cost of treatment but rather the like-for-like cost of a particular 'item' such as 10 minute consultation or a 1 week course of antibiotics, for example. 

QuoteI'm wondering where this discussion is going.... don't know if I'm talkin' humans or labradors

Yes, sorry for sidetracking the thread.  I'll shut up now.  I just find it hard to let it slide when I hear the same unpleasant misconception repeated to me so often.

Comparisons between vets' services and human health services such as the NHS are completely
pointless, in fact even comparing the NHS with health services in EU or US is difficult because of
the different setups and financing. It's  like comparing UK rail fares with those in Europe.

I hate to argue Rabs, but vetinaries are clearly *very* different where I live.

*Massive* markups on meds, as evidenced by me purchasing online for a third of the vet's prices.
.............And after using the same vet consistently for 15 years; he STILL charged me £45 to kill my cat.

Mind, he did come round in his top-of-the-range Range Rover, so I guess he spent a bit in fuel

It's a bit unfair to complain about a vet charging to put your cat down. He would do it painlessly
and you could'nt get the chemicals to do it and presumably would'nt want do it with with your
bare hands.

£45  is a moderate charge for a professional, in the accountancy firm I worked in I was charged at
£60 an hour and I was just a minion. The big suits would charge £150 to shake hands with a client.