Levittown Animal Hospital Blog

What do Betty White (left) and Kanye West have in common?

Whether you watched the MTV Video Music Awards or not, you’ve likely seen or heard about Kanye West jumping on stage, stealing the microphone from award-winner Taylor Swift, and voicing his unsolicited opinion.  A  few years ago, Betty White (yes, the naive and adorable Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls) stole  the microphone from veterinarians’ hands and I would like to take it back.

Commercials where Betty White touts the convenience of an online pet pharmacy have been airing on television since 2007.  It is admittedly a brilliant pairing -White is a well-liked celebrity and carries a reputation for being an animal lover.  But I wish she would have consulted with her veterinarian (or the Morris Animal Foundation, which she also supports) before shooting the commercial, as her attitude and script in the advertisement are a bit deceptive.

Do online pet pharmacies make good on their promise to deliver the “exact same medications” that you buy at your vet’s office?  Well, yes and no.  There are many drugs, both brand name and generic, that any licensed pharmacy can purchase and resell.  The problem comes with many of the popular flea, tick and heartworm preventatives (e.g, Advantage (Bayer), Heartgard (Merial), and Interceptor (Novartis)).  These products, according to their respective manufacturers, are only distributed to veterinarians and animal hospitals.  So how do internet retailers get their hands on these products?  Usually through unscrupulous veterinarians who have nothing better to do than resell mass quantities of medications to these online depots.  Sometimes the drugs are purchased domestically, and sometimes they are from overseas (France and Australia have historically been popular places to “import” these drugs from).  If you think that sounds sketchy, it is.

These re-sold or “diverted” products are considered gray-market items.  They no longer carry the manufacturer’s guarantee and there will be no established relationship between the pet, owner, veterinarian, and pharmaceutical company to assist with any problems associated with the drug such as an adverse reaction or even product failure.  Foreign products have similar packaging to their US counterparts, but are often labeled with kilograms instead of pounds for body weight.  These are actually illegal to sell in the United States, where we have yet to adopt the metric system.  All of these rules and issues apply to the same products being diverted to brick-and-mortar stores, including the nationwide retail giants.

Even if you can figure out that 2.2lbs = 1kg, that still doesn’t change the fact that you’re on your own if something goes wrong.  As a simple example, let’s assume that Fluffy has been getting a monthly heartworm pill, but once day you find some nice roundworms in her stool.  Between examinations, laboratory testing and deworming, your out of pocket expenses could be upwards of $150.  100% of this could be covered by the manufacturer, but only if the heartworm pills were purchased from your veterinarian -and this is often coordinated between your veterinarian and the manufacturer so you wouldn’t even have to deal with phone calls or faxing records.  Is this level of coverage really worth sacrificing in order to save a few bucks?

Internet pharmacies have also been guilty of shipping out prescription medications without any authorization from a prescribing doctor.  This is not only a federal offense, but can be dangerous to the pet.  Unfortunately, some pet owners use the internet as a tool to play doctor and self medicate their pets without consulting a qualified professional.  At best, things will go well and the owner saves a few bucks.  Most often, inappropriate treatment is administered, and the animal suffers until a veterinarian steps in to solve the problem.  In those cases, any potential savings from buying online is quickly reversed by starting from scratch at the animal hospital.

Online pharmacies are without question a huge convenience to anyone comfortable with making purchases from their computer.  However, the world wide web cannot replace your veterinarian as the best resource for diagnosing and treating your pets.  This isn’t about losing pharmacy revenues -it’s about being kept in the loop about your pet’s needs and prescribing the right course of treatment based on the evidence and information provided for each case.  If you are still looking to save money with prescriptions, encourage your veterinarian to start their own online pet pharmacy where prices can be more competitive.

Take that, Betty White.