Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Bob Russell — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 11:50:05 GMT

I resisted the urge to give a red star, curse, swear and throw something at the screen because this shows immense bravery on Emmas part. Spawn of the devil did not even cross my mind!

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:57:59 GMT

[quote user="Emma Flattery"]I am the vet at an online pharmacy[/quote]I'm not sure that is something I'd want to admit to on a forum populated by vets in private practice!

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Emma Robinson — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:26:32 GMT

I am the vet at an online pharmacy and we quite often get vets prescribing using their home address. It's absolutely fine - all we need is a copy of their vet registration or a copy of their ID (to reduce the risk of identity theft and forgeries) and we find them on the RCVS register. We do everything according to VMD (and General Pharmaceutical Council) guidelines.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Stephen Courtney — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 23:18:23 GMT

I looked after a dog in quarantine that came from West Africa. It was diagnosed with lung worm ( NOT the UK variety!) in quarantine - and after it left quarantine got moved on to Eritrea - owners were diplomats.

For some years i continued to provide the owners with medication for this dog - no vets in Eritrea, and no doctors either - sent to Holland and shipped to Eritrea via Diplomatic Bag - with no pangs of conscience. it didn't even occur to me to worry...such naif!

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Anthony Todd — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 13:41:54 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]Provided that it's in good faith [/quote]

Well is was that, and common sense too, and I just told Mrs M what to get the doctor to give her.

I was the dog's only option.

Mind you, after certain high profile trials involving historical offenses I suppose I should be fearful....

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 10:42:16 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]I had a "client" in St Helena, South Atlantic [no vet on the island] who came to see me with no dog but a description of the dog's symptoms. [/quote]It is my understanding that once the animal is outside the UK the RCVS/DEFRA/VMB whoever have no jurisdiction on what or for what you dispense. You may have a bit of an issue if it is restricted drugs but that is with the law not our august bodies.

Provided that it's in good faith i.e. you have no reason to disbelieve its intended use, and that intended use is clearly marked, the responsibility becomes that of the person transporting the medication i.e. whether it is legal by the means of transport they choose or by the regulations of the country they wish to import it into.

Of course I may be wrong but hope not as I've done similar on several occasions so open to discussion.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Anthony Todd — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 10:01:08 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]Who was the client, Napoleon?[/quote]

No, his sister-in-law, a Mrs M.

Only met Napoleon a few times, seemed preoccupied, always had his hand in his trouser pocket which I found a bit disturbing, still, he was alone.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Mark Hedberg — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 09:49:35 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]

I had a "client" in St Helena, South Atlantic [no vet on the island] who came to see me with no dog but a description of the dog's symptoms.

[/quote]

Who was the client, Napoleon?

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Anthony Todd — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 09:30:33 GMT

Geez, why does common sense get trampled on by convoluted regulation and resultant paranoia?

Ironic when the only thing achieved is a lot of stress for the owner and delayed treatment for the animal which is the complete opposite of the purported purpose of the regulations...

I had a "client" in St Helena, South Atlantic [no vet on the island] who came to see me with no dog but a description of the dog's symptoms. With the aid of a doctor on the island I used to "prescribe" treatment by letter, can't remember the condition, for some years.

Everyone was happy, I didn't charge her, and the dog was fine.

I suppose these days I'd be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure at least.....

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 09:28:20 GMT

[quote user="An On MRCVS"]Would it have been ok to write a rx from my home?[/quote] Not only that but you could practice from home, the restriction would be imposed by the local authority on change of use of premises from a dwelling to a business not the the RCVS. As Bob says the caveat is that you shouldn't store medicines at an unlicenced premises. Other than that you just need to follow the guide to professional conduct as previously suggested.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 23:36:11 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"]

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]There's no such thing as a registered practice, as far as I know.[/quote]

Only if you are stocking /storing medicines at your premises?

[/quote]

Yeah but that's not "registering a practice", that's just registering premises and just with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

bob lehner — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 21:35:39 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]There's no such thing as a registered practice, as far as I know.[/quote]

Only if you are stocking /storing medicines at your premises?

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:14:39 GMT

[quote user="An On MRCVS"]the key is that I don't have a registered practice that I work from[/quote]

There's no such thing as a registered practice, as far as I know.

[quote user="An On MRCVS"]Would it have been ok to write a rx from my home?[/quote]

Sure, why not?

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

An On MRCVS — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 17:49:52 GMT

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the offer of help- it is much appreciated!

In the end, my pal's mum paid for the vet!

It's interesting- I am registered with the RCVS at my place of work, my role is non clinical just now.

I am VDS covered as I am doing some volunterring at a charity to keep my hand in.

Would it have been ok to write a rx from my home?

I would have kept a clinical record fo the examination and emailed it to my pal and kept a copy here.

it all feels quite confusing - the key is that I don't have a registered practice that I work from.

Anwyay, it's all hypothetical now.

Sorry I didn't come back sooner- life is busy!

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Malcolm Ness — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 20:48:19 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]The OP would be at least as contactable (probably more) assuming her friend has her telephone number and it would not be beyond her wit to provide a brief clinical history for her friend to carry with her. Problem solved.[/quote]

The problem doesn't lie in the logistics,(which are, as you point out, easily sorted) it lies in the fact that there are one or two vets out there who like to "stand on their points", others who are simply complete a***holes and others still who are both.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 15:23:51 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]Imagine cat takes ill while you are not available and rocks up at another practice with no history, no access to you and, as you say, no money. The attending vet might be a little peeved.[/quote]I'm about to be two faced here given my post on my response to my friend's request for cat vaccines with the caveat that at least the OP is registered and insured. The vet in your scenario might be peeved but he has more no genuine cause to refuse to see the case or take any other draconian action than with any client rocking up say at an OOH clinic with no money and with no immediate access to a clinical history. The OP would be at least as contactable (probably more) assuming her friend has her telephone number and it would not be beyond her wit to provide a brief clinical history for her friend to carry with her. Problem solved.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Michael Woodhouse — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 13:49:37 GMT

To be fair so long as I could check the name on the register then I was quite happy sticking them in the post, but I received no contact!

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Malcolm Ness — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:12:50 GMT

[quote user="Anne Seawright"]As long as you have satisfied yourself that the animal is under your care (and could satisfy others if need be)[/quote]

That's the rub.

Imagine cat takes ill while you are not available and rocks up at another practice with no history, no access to you and, as you say, no money. The attending vet might be a little peeved.

In a similar situation, I would consider going to an established practice with the friend and picking up the bill - most vets would prob waive, or at least heavily discount their fee in such a circumstance.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Anne Seawright — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 11:42:36 GMT

As long as you have satisfied yourself that the animal is under your care (and could satisfy others if need be) you are effectively working as a self employed vet (and have registration and insurance). There is a template for a prescription in the formulary or many online pharmacies have their own templates that you just print and fill out.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 10:31:58 GMT

You are effectively a self-employed vet. There is nothing to say that as a member of the RCVS you cannot treat this pet provided you follow the same guidelines as if you were working in a practice i.e. advise the previous vet that you are taking over the case and request the clinical history. If you have examined the cat and in your opinion it is beneficial to continue with the medication then write the script or obtain the meds as Bob suggested.

I recently had a slightly different situation where a vet friend who has now retired and is no longer a member of the RCVS asked me to provide vaccines to give to his daughter's new kittens. I considered doing him a favour and using common sense as there would be no harm but I declined and he got a bit upset. Although he may be perfectly capable of examining the kittens and giving the vaccine unfortunately I told him that if something goes tits up and a kitten ends up with a severe adverse reaction at a jobs-worth vet then there could be a situation where either I'm guilty of illegally supplying medication to animals not under my care or he is guilty of posing as veterinary surgeon when he is not registered. Or in fact both.

I don't think you are in that sort of situation Anon.

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Bob Russell — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 09:47:36 GMT

Just go to a local practice and buy them. As a practicing vet you are perfectly entitled to buy POM drugs from wherever you chose. They may ask for a written order to keep the books straight with the VMD. We do this regularly with the local Boots The Chemist. It is not a prescription for a named animal just a medicines purchase. The practice will supply a container. Just make sure you produce a label with the correct information. In emergency this does not have to be printed but it is easy as can be to print one and sellotape to the bottle.

If you are prescribing them for an animal you consider under your care then this is perfectly acceptable. A written prescription would be fine but not really worth the effort IMO because they are pennies.. The supplying practice might decide it is not worth the effort of charging! They might even offer you a few shifts of work!

Everything legitimate and above board, just a little effort. If you are paranoid add your RCVS number to the label!

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Hannah Wynne Richards — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 09:26:29 GMT

Ask VDS They're very good at advising if you're in a tricky situation - then obey them to the letter

Wynne

Re: Writing a prescription for a friend's cat if i'm not employed in a practice.. advice required

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 21:46:30 GMT

Send me a PM using your usual log in.