Rising Vet Costs

[sandgrubber]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j3020kl04o

 

What's happening in the UK seems to be happening in all developed countries.  Veterinary practices are becoming businesses, expected to turn a profit for shareholders.

[tdierikx]

Most vet clinic customers want gold star service for little to no cost... which unfortunately isn't actually how things work. If you have a sick pet, and the exact cause isn't immediately obvious, then certain tests will at the very least open up other avenues for diagnosing/treating said pet.

 

I'm definitely no fan of the corporate model of dealing with animal health services, but also understand that any diagnostics/treatments are going to have a cost attached that may not be blatantly obvious to the general public. There are a lot of "hidden" costs that go into providing what is seen/done in a consult, so when someone says a vet "only" did xyz, you can guarantee that abc costs have also been incurred behind the scenes to provide for that xyz consult.

 

Everything in life and business has increased in cost over the past 5-10 years, so why are we expecting veterinary services to be less affected by those increased costs than any other business?

 

T.

[Mairead]

My main concern was to find a vet that knew sighthounds. Greyhound vets had the knowledge but are going to be harder to find is my guess. 

At one local (non-greyhound) vet I had a reputation for being very detailed with symptoms, and when I wasn't sure what the problem was with one of my old dogs I remember saying "Spare no expense" which was probably a pleasant surprise for them.

I also remember talking with a woman in tears about the poor chance of successful treatment [or possibly the cost she couldn't afford or wasn't allowed to afford, or both - it was a long time ago] for her badly injured large dog, and would have to have it put down. I told her we were very lucky to be able to make that decision for our pets to end their suffering, people who were suffering weren't allowed to make that choice. 

I agree the business model is not the one I prefer, but the same is happening with medical practioners. When my GP retired, I would rather not have supported the clinic that also offered "vitamin infusions" but I was running out of options in the local area and needed a new referral. 

 

 

[_PL_]

Vets can do more now, and offer more treatments and tests. That costs. And they have to be paid for their services.
The specialist places look like human hospitals with every bit of equipment. All this comes at a cost and of course prices rise anyway - everything is more expensive now.
But vets are hard working, good people for the most part. Their lives revolve around work and burnout is a real thing. Corporate pressure to generate more and more revenue is the last thing they need.  

There's also incredibly heavy societal pressure to do and spend everything you can for your 'baby' or you're 'not a good pet owner'. I see it every day on FB. The comments are awful. What happens if you simply can't get hold of thousands of dollars in the blink of an eye? The guilt people feel because they don't have the money to pay for all these extra new options and interventions is sad.  

There's NO excuse for neglect though so I'm not making excuses for those who don't even maintain their pet's health with basic vetwork, or a euthanasia when necessary.

/rant over