Pet Med Direct • Ongoing Pet Medication
Repeat Pet Prescriptions
Where your veterinary surgeon has authorised repeats on your pet’s prescription, further supplies of that medicine can be ordered without going back to the very beginning each time. This page explains how a repeat pet prescription works, what your prescription actually authorises, and how to order ongoing pet medication through Pet Med Direct.
Pet Med Direct is an online service provided by Farm Vet Services. We can supply only the medicine, strength and quantity your own vet has authorised.
- Operated by Farm Vet Services
- RCVS Veterinary Oversight
- VMD Registered Online Retailer
- UK Delivery Including Northern Ireland
What a Repeat Pet Prescription Is
A repeat prescription is written by a veterinary surgeon so that further supplies of a medicine already prescribed for your animal can be dispensed, within the limits your vet sets, without a fresh consultation every single time. It is most often used for ongoing pet medication — long-term treatment your pet stays on rather than a single short course.
The decision always sits with your own veterinary surgeon. They know your pet’s history, they have examined the animal, and they decide whether repeats are appropriate, how many are allowed and how much medicine each supply covers. Pet Med Direct does not make that decision and cannot extend it.
Once you hold that prescription, ordering the medicine is straightforward. If you are new to buying pet medicines online, our pet prescriptions and prescription medication guide walks through the whole ordering process, from matching the medicine to what happens when the prescription is checked.
What Your Prescription Authorises
A repeat pet prescription is not open-ended. It sets out exactly what may be supplied, and everything we dispense has to sit inside those limits.
Authorised Quantities
Your prescription states the medicine, the strength and the quantity your veterinary surgeon has authorised. We can supply only what is written on it — no more. If your pet needs a larger quantity than the prescription allows, that has to come from your vet as a new or amended prescription, not from us.
Remaining Repeats
Before ordering, check that your prescription is still valid and that repeats remain available on it. Your vet’s prescription will show how long it remains valid and how many repeats are authorised. It is worth confirming there is enough authorised quantity left to cover the supply you are asking for, so your order is not held up.
When Your Repeats Run Out
Once the authorised repeats are used up, contact your own veterinary practice. Your vet will decide whether your pet needs reassessing before further medicine is prescribed — for many long-term treatments a periodic check is simply part of responsible care. Pet Med Direct cannot supply beyond what is authorised, however long your pet has been on the medicine.
Changes to Your Pet’s Treatment
Do not alter the dose, split or double up tablets, substitute a different product, or increase the quantity you give without veterinary advice. If a medicine no longer seems to be working, or your pet reacts badly to it, speak to your veterinary surgeon rather than adjusting the treatment yourself.
Ordering Repeat Medication Through Pet Med Direct
Repeat supplies are ordered the same way as any other prescription order. There is no separate repeat button or subscription — each supply is placed as a normal order with the prescription that authorises it.
Check What Is Left
Look at your prescription and confirm it is still valid and still has repeats remaining that cover the quantity you want to order.
Place Your Order
Order the medicine in the normal way, matching the product name, strength and quantity to what is written on your prescription.
Send Us the Prescription
Upload your prescription showing the remaining repeats, so we can check the supply you have asked for against it.
Veterinary Check, Then Dispatch
Your order is checked against the prescription before the medicine is prepared. See our postage information for delivery detail.
Not sure about any part of the process? The UK Pet Prescription Help Centre answers the practical questions in more depth.
Ongoing Treatment for Dogs and Cats
Repeat supply is most common for long-term conditions, where an animal stays on the same medicine for months or years under veterinary supervision.
Repeat Dog Prescriptions
Dogs on long-term treatment often need the same medicine supplied again and again. Browse our range of dog medication and order against the repeats your vet has authorised.
Repeat Cat Prescriptions
Ongoing feline treatment works the same way. See what is available in cat medication and match your order to the prescription your vet has issued.
Your Vet Leads Your Pet’s Treatment
Repeat prescribing is a convenience for medicines your veterinary surgeon has already judged appropriate for your animal. It is not a substitute for veterinary assessment. Pet Med Direct’s veterinary team does not examine your pet and cannot advise on whether a medicine, a dose or a course length is right for them — that is your own vet’s role.
If your pet’s condition changes, if side effects appear, or if you think the treatment needs adjusting, contact your veterinary practice before changing anything.
Veterinary Oversight at Pet Med Direct
Pet Med Direct is an online service provided by Farm Vet Services. The veterinary surgeons below are members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and their registration can be checked independently through the RCVS.
Patrick Finnegan, BVMS, MRCVS
Registered Veterinary Surgeon
- RCVS Registration Number: 7230753
- Registration category: UK Practising
- RCVS registration date: 30 June 2017
Patrick Finnegan is a founding partner of Pet Med Direct and a registered veterinary surgeon. His work with Pet Med Direct contributes to prescription compliance, responsible medicine supply and the professional standards applied to veterinary medicine ordering.
Stephen Hazelton, BVMS, MRCVS
Registered Veterinary Surgeon
- RCVS Registration Number: 7183305
- Registration category: UK Practising
- RCVS registration date: 1 July 2016
Stephen Hazelton is a founding partner of Pet Med Direct and a registered veterinary surgeon. At Pet Med Direct he contributes to clinical oversight, professional prescription review and responsible veterinary medicine supply.
Farm Vet Services is listed as a registered internet retailer of veterinary medicines. You can check the VMD Register of Online Retailers.
Repeat Pet Prescription FAQs
That depends entirely on what your own veterinary surgeon has authorised. The prescription itself states how many repeats are allowed and how much medicine each supply covers. Pet Med Direct cannot add repeats or increase the authorised quantity.
Contact your own veterinary practice. Your vet decides whether your pet needs reassessing before more medicine is prescribed, and issues a new prescription if that is appropriate. We cannot supply beyond what has already been authorised.
Where your veterinary surgeon has authorised repeats, further supply can be made without a fresh consultation each time. Whether that is appropriate is their professional judgement, and they may still ask to see your pet periodically while treatment continues.
Speak to your veterinary surgeon. A change of dose needs a prescription that reflects the new instructions. Never adjust the dose, change the product or increase the quantity given on your own.
No. Each supply is placed as a normal order, providing the prescription that shows repeats remain authorised. There is no automatic recurring supply.
Your vet’s prescription will show how long it remains valid and how many repeats are authorised. If anything is unclear, check with the practice that issued it before you order.
Pet Med Direct delivers across the UK including Northern Ireland. What can be supplied depends on the medicine concerned, and prescription medicines still require the appropriate valid veterinary prescription.
Explore More Pet Medication Guides
Pet Medication Online
The main guide to ordering veterinary medicines and pet care products through Pet Med Direct. Read the guide.
Pet Prescriptions Online
How prescription-only veterinary medicines are supplied online, and what has to happen before dispatch. See the detail.
Pet Medication in Northern Ireland
What Northern Ireland pet owners need to know about ordering and receiving veterinary medicines. Read more.
Ready to Order Your Pet’s Repeat Medication?
Check the repeats remaining on your prescription, place your order, and send us the prescription that authorises it.
