Big Pharma is branching out the animals to improve their revenue stream.
Related posts:
- Pfizer: Going to the dogs
- Pharmacies in physician offices
- Cooperative agreements
- Pharma goes on the attack in health reform
- Bill Gates on Big Pharma
- Pharma box office
- Patents and Big Pharma
KevinMD.com on Facebook
{ 4 comments }
So am I. I recently took my pet to the after hours animal emergency room. I saved several hundred dollars on my bill consulting on a dog which the vet needed help with in my subspeciality. The family followed up with a very appreciative thank you card. Believe me that the amounts charged for some veterinary procedures are far more than you will receive as a physician.
The lovely dog you see in the picture here was on canine Xanax when I adopted her (she was a abused dog rescued by the ASPCA and a bit psycho). They took her off it when I took her home, but offered to re-prescribe it if she needed it (she didn’t).
That was three years ago, so I’m not sure why canine Prozac is considered newsworthy.
I hesitate to call this practice new or uncommon. It’s not popular by any stretch, but it does happen.
My dad’s wife’s dog takes compazine to slow her down when she’s especially psycho.
Reminds me of a funny story a friend told me.
He had a cat who had previously been a stray and still had this nasty habit of spraying, even after neutering.
The vet thought prescribed Valium because apparently it helps sometimes.
Vets usually write prescriptions using pets first name and owner last name e.g. Fluffy Smith, the pharmacist thought it was for a child. So they have this conversation:
pharmacist: This is a very strong drug
my friend: Yes…
pharmacist: How do you administer it?
my friend: Oh, very simply. I hold him and open his mouth, and my wife shoves it down his throat.
At this point the pharmacist had his mouth open and looked ready to call child services. So my friend smiles and says “It is a cat! Look at the first name”.
Comments on this entry are closed.