Prescription Regulations

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. Add all the items that you require to your Animed shopping basket and follow the checkout process. Don’t forget that you can order non-prescription drugs, food, accessories and other products at the same time if you wish to.

3. Ideally, we'd recommend that you upload your prescription to the Animed website during the checkout process as this allows us to process your order quicker. However, in some instances, we cannot accept an uploaded or emailed 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, Epirepress, Soliphen, Epityl, Tralieve and Tramvetol) must always be posted to us as only the original prescription can be accepted. The product pages for these products will clearly state that they are Controlled drugs. 

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 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.

IMPORTANT: When posting a prescription to Animed Direct, please send the original document. We cannot accept photocopies. We would recommend you send prescriptions using a 'signed for' delivery service.

Find out more about how to upload a prescription

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 delivery options and gain a better idea of how long your order will take, please see our Delivery & Returns page.

Upon receipt of a prescription, orders are subject to our stringent Vet Approval process, which can 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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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. The Controlled drugs that we stock are Epiphen, Epirepress, Soliphen, Epityl, Tralieve and Tramvetol, and will be clearly labelled on the product pages.

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 uploaded or emailed copies, scans, photos or faxes 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 & Conditions.

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. Find out more about our returns policy.

To find details on all veterinary medicinal products currently authorised in the UK, please see the VMD's Product Information Database.

In the event of an adverse reaction to a medicine, please report this to the VMD.