Medication for Pets with Chronic Disease

At Nelson Bay Vet, we are dedicated to providing the highest level of care for your pets, including the safe and effective administration of long-term medications.

How frequently should my pet be seen by a vet?

  • A veterinary consultation is required at least every 6 months (or more frequently, if indicated) to maintain a current veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) in accordance with NSW prescribing laws.
  • These consultations ensure that your pet's condition is being appropriately monitored and that medications are adjusted as needed for efficacy and safety.

Need to re-order your pet’s medication?

Vivienne, our virtual veterinary nurse, can help you! Chat with her now. Alternatively, you may prefer to contact us via e-mail. For urgent requests, please contact us directly on (02) 4981 1033.

Medications will be available for collection within the following timeframes:

  • Standard Medications: Please request refills at least 2-3 business days in advance.
  • Compounded or Specially Ordered Medications: These medications may require up to one week to process, so please order early to avoid interruptions in your pet’s care
Urgent Refill Requests
  • If an urgent refill is required, an additional administration fee will be applied to expedite the process.
  • While we strive to meet urgent needs, please understand that same-day refills are subject to availability and veterinary approval.
Want to buy your pet's medication online?

PetPA is our online pharmacy partner. They offer Express Post shipping, with same-day delivery for orders made before 11am.

Our vets can write prescriptions upon request. These incur a fee to cover our professional time and postage and handling of these legal documents. We provide scripts to pharmacies directly to minimise the risk of misplacement.

Help us reduce plastic waste

If your medication has been previously dispensed in an amber child-proof plastic container, bring your empty container back to us to re-use. By doing this, you will minimise our plastic usage, and receive $10 off the cost of your medication refill 💚🌱

Monitoring and Follow-Up

For pets on chronic medications, ongoing monitoring is essential to ensure safety and effectiveness. Depending on the medication, your veterinarian may recommend the following:

  • Blood Level Monitoring: To ensure that medication levels in the bloodstream remain within a therapeutic range (e.g. Phenobarbitone, Potassium Bromide, Cyclosporine).
  • Blood Pressure Checks: Some chronic conditions and some medications may affect blood pressure, and regular monitoring helps prevent complications. (e.g. Chronic Kidney disease, Amodip, Propalin)
  • Urine Testing: Used to monitor kidney function, check for urinary tract inflammation/infection or check for effects of certain medications. (Chronic kidney disease, Diabetes, Cushing's disease, Semintra/Telmisartan)
  • General Blood Testing: May be required to check liver, kidney, and other organ function, or to assess the overall health of your pet whilst on chronic medication.

Why Monitoring Matters

Ongoing monitoring is essential to:

  • Detect adverse reactions early.
  • Adjust dosages and/or medications for optimal efficacy.
  • Ensure that your pet is responding well to the treatment and is not experiencing harmful side effects.

Failure to comply with monitoring requirements may result in the inability to continue prescribing the medication.

By following these protocols and scheduling regular consultations, we can ensure that your pet continues to receive safe and effective treatment, and can pick up changes in their health early.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team.

A note on compounded medication fees

If your pet requires a medication that must be compounded, you may have noticed a Compounded Medication Administration Fee on your invoice. This fee covers essential steps that ensure the safe and effective administration of compounded medications, including:

  • The veterinarian's time in reviewing your pet’s case for each prescription, including any necessary repeats
  • The careful preparation of the prescription
  • Postage and handling for both the prescription and medication once it arrives at our clinic

By law, we cannot add a markup to the medication’s price; what you pay for the medication itself is the same amount charged by the pharmacy. We charge this specific fee as a way to be transparent with you about the real costs involved in delivering compounded medication services.

While some practices may absorb these costs into other fees, we believe that itemising our charges is the clearest way to ensure you know exactly what each fee covers, which also allows us to maintain a fair and consistent fee structure for all our services.

Thank you for your understanding and for supporting our commitment to exceptional care!