Prescription Regulations

A prescription is the written instruction from your vet explaining which drug is required, the amount to be supplied, the dose to be given, whether it can be repeated or not, details about the patient, a declaration that the animal is under veterinary care and the signature and details of the Veterinary Surgeon who prescribed it.

Prescriptions from vets are essentially the same as those given from doctors.

Most vets will charge for a prescription (prices vary) and most prescriptions are only valid for a maximum of six months from the date they are signed, (some can be for less – it’s important you check your prescription very carefully or check with your veterinary practice).

Prescriptions for Controlled Drugs are only valid for 28 days. 

NOTE: Because prescriptions expire, you will need to diary in reminders to renew your prescription and upload new, valid, in-date version in order for us to be able to dispense medication as you require.

Animed Direct Ltd are only able to supply against prescriptions that have been signed by a veterinary surgeon whose name appears on the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) register as a UK practising vet.

We only deliver prescription only veterinary medicines (POM-V) to UK addresses.

If you want to order a POM-V product that REQUIRES A PRESCRIPTION, here are the steps you’ll need to take:

1. Obtain a valid prescription from your vet. (Occasionally, for the sake of the animal’s welfare, and/or for clarification of the medication, we may need to contact your vet. This means we will be accessing your personal data. By uploading your prescription you are agreeing for us to do this for this specific purpose.) Please note, we can only dispense according to what is written by your vet on your prescription, so please ensure that the prescription you have been issued matches your expectations before ordering.
   
   
2. Once you have added all the items you require to your Animed Direct shopping basket, follow the checkout process. Don’t forget that you can order non-prescription item drugs, food and accessories etc. at the same time if you wish to.
   
   
3. Ideally, we’d recommend that you upload your prescription to the Animed Direct site during the checkout process. By uploading at the same time as check out you will be able to process your order more quickly, however, in some instances, we cannot accept an uploaded, emailed or faxed version of your prescription, there are several reasons;

   - If your veterinary practice has stated on your prescription that only the original is acceptable, then you will need to post your prescription to us. Please read and check your prescription carefully so that you can avoid unnecessary delays.

   - Prescriptions for Controlled Drugs (Epiphen, Phenobarbital, Tramadol, Epirepress, Soliphen, Epityl, Tralieve, Tramvetol and Gabapentin) must always be posted to us as only the original prescription can be accepted. The products that are Controlled Drugs will clearly state this on the product page. 

4. If you cannot upload your prescription, please make a note of your order number (shown at the end of the checkout process) write the order number on your prescription and send it to us via email, fax or post.
5. If your prescription is for several different items and one of them is an item we do not stock, you will need to obtain that item at a different veterinary medicines retailer. We request that you post us your original prescription so that we can mark off what we have supplied for the information of the other veterinary medicines retailer and return it to you so that you can then use it to obtain the item we do not stock.

How soon will your prescription orders be delivered?

You have a choice of delivery options at checkout which will affect how quickly your items will arrive. To view your options and gain a better idea of how long your order will take, please read our delivery methods, costs and exceptions here.

Upon receipt of a prescription, orders are subject to our stringent Vet Approval process, which may take up to 2 working days. After that, orders will be processed for dispatch. Your delivery time will then be subject to your choice of postage.

PLEASE NOTE: Delivery is by either Royal Mail, or Courier and delays can occur beyond our control.

Because we are dealing with a prescribed medication, the law states that unfortunately, we cannot accept returns for POM-V prescription medicines (even if unopened and still sealed).

We can accept returns for non-prescription medication and other items if in a resalable condition and in the original packaging. View full details of our returns policy here.

If your pet requires a prescription only medication (POM-V), your vet should not refuse a reasonable request for a written prescription just because the items will be dispensed elsewhere.

A veterinary surgeon will make a charge for written prescriptions. They should not make unreasonable charges that could be regarded as a deterrent by clients who might otherwise ask for a prescription.

Even allowing for the prescription charge, you will often find that we are still considerably cheaper than obtaining the medication directly from your Vet.

This is almost certainly the case for repeatable prescriptions.

Repeatable prescriptions may be dispensed multiple times within the validity of the prescription. This will depend on the condition to be treated, but will only incur one prescription charge from the vet.

In the best interest of your pet, your vet will determine how frequently your pet needs to be reassessed depending on the condition being treated.

Any medication or repeats that have not been claimed within the valid period of the prescription will be lost. 

Scheduled Order feature for repeat prescriptions

To maximise the medication available on the prescription why not take advantage of our Scheduled Order feature?

A Scheduled Order enables you to order the products you require on a regular basis, ranging from every 1 to 6 months.

We'll automatically generate an order for you on the date specified.

You can cancel, pause or adjust the schedule at any time from the "My Account" section.

If you have a repeat prescription on file with us, we will process your Scheduled Order against this repeat.

If you do not have a prescription on file, we will contact you via Email to remind you to provide your prescription to us.

PLEASE NOTE: We can only send out repeat items if the prescription held is current and covers the quantity required. It’s recommended that you keep a note of how many items from your prescription you’ve already had, and how many are left, so that you have time to get a new prescription from your vet for upload, before the version on our records runs low or out. You can also view the prescriptions allocated to your Animed Direct Account.

Some drugs are classed as Controlled drugs. Controlled drugs are listed in schedules 2-4 of the misuse of drugs regulations 2001 and your vet will be able to advise you if the drugs they’re prescribing fall into this category.

For Controlled Drugs we must receive the original written prescription in the post before we can process your order and dispense these medications. We cannot accept faxed, uploaded or emailed copies of prescriptions for this class of drug.

The full quantity of medication allowed by the prescription of Controlled Drugs must be purchased in a single order within 28 days of the date the prescription was signed. We can only dispense the original quantity stated on the prescription.

Repeats are not permitted for Controlled Drug prescriptions.

Your order will be sent by Courier and must be signed for at the time of delivery.

It is an offence to submit your prescription to multiple online pharmacies in an attempt to get more medication than has been allowed on your prescription by your vet. 

It is an offence for a person to submit a fraudulent prescription to obtain veterinary medicines and for a person to alter a prescription unless authorised to do so by a prescriber.

We have a policy of making regular routine checks with veterinary practices to detect any fraudulent prescriptions and by ordering from us, you are giving us consent to access your personal data for this specific reason.

If we identify any prescription misuse we are obliged to inform our regulatory authority the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). The VMD will investigate and decide what further legal action is taken.

If the prescription is confirmed as fraudulent we will cancel your order and refund your payment less £20 to cover our costs of investigating and reporting prescription misuse, as per our terms and conditions.