The Hardships Associated with Veterinary Pharmacy
Human medicine and vet medicine are vastly different, from the patients they treat to how they treat them.
In human medicine, there are guidelines for almost every condition and a set of standards that most physicians abide by. In veterinary medicine, it is a lot more difficult to find consensus across multiple providers due to a lack of universal treatment guidelines. Part of that is due to the wide range of animals that can be treated for a wide range of illnesses and it would be difficult to gather the data and set guidelines. The other part of it is due to the reduced urgency for veterinary medicine when compared to human medicine.
While it is understandable that most value the lives of humans over animals, pets are becoming more of a family member instead of a piece of property. In states like Massachusetts where animals are classified as property, HIPAA does not apply, so no special considerations for proper disposal of documents or disclosure of information is necessary. However, this can change from state to state, making it difficult again to have a universal set of standards. Veterinary pharmacies also are not subject to direct FDA oversight like a normal pharmacy would be. This means veterinary pharmacists have to find workarounds for ordering certain medications and have to ensure their pharmacies are still living up to those FDA regulations despite not getting regular inspections.
Another big challenge in vet medicine is adherence. Animals are notorious for not wanting to take medications, so it is important for veterinarians to take this into account when prescribing. It is not unusual for pharmacies to include extra medication (~5–10% overfill on non-controlled medications) because they know some will be lost when attempting administration. Veterinary pharmacists have been helping with this by compounding formulations that aren’t commonly available, and even with special flavorings that are more palatable to different species.
Another barrier to treatment that many pet owners face is insurance, as it is nowhere near as widely available as health insurance for humans. If you are able to find pet insurance, it is most likely costly and comparable to out of pocket costs depending on how often you are seeing the vet. Simple visits and refills of maintenance medications can be upwards of hundreds of dollars per month to keep your furry loved ones healthy.
Arguably one of the biggest challenges that veterinary medicine faces is the lack of resources on clinical efficacy and safety of many medications. As we know there are many physiologic and pharmacokinetic differences between humans and animals, which is why we dose certain medications differently, or avoid certain ones all together. This means any medication untested in a certain species shouldn’t be used in that species due to the risk of an adverse reaction. Unfortunately, clinical information isn’t as widely available as it is in humans, which makes it harder to make a decision on a potentially necessary medication. Practitioners are often left to base clinical decisions off of single case studies on animals of a similar species.
As you can see, veterinary medicine has a long way to come before we will see a universal care model, as it is plagued in an uphill battle against regulations, insurance, and underwhelming resources.
Thank you for reading.
