Canadian veterinarians lose pharmacy subsidy as Competition Bureau opens retail salesSix percent of older dogs with acute neurological signs had brain hemorrhage on MRINVA hires Dr. Jo Ann Morrison as VP of clinical excellence and patient safetyPurina adds three feline therapeutic products to Pro Plan Veterinary lineFDA authorizes emergency fluralaner use for screwworm infestations in dogsVetster partners with 17-location boarding chain to put telehealth vets on call for guest petsAAHA data shows 44% of pets are now seniors as 15-18% lifespan gains reshape practice revenueHill's releases small-dog clinical report as breed mix shifts practice case loadCanadian veterinarians lose pharmacy subsidy as Competition Bureau opens retail salesSix percent of older dogs with acute neurological signs had brain hemorrhage on MRINVA hires Dr. Jo Ann Morrison as VP of clinical excellence and patient safetyPurina adds three feline therapeutic products to Pro Plan Veterinary lineFDA authorizes emergency fluralaner use for screwworm infestations in dogsVetster partners with 17-location boarding chain to put telehealth vets on call for guest petsAAHA data shows 44% of pets are now seniors as 15-18% lifespan gains reshape practice revenueHill's releases small-dog clinical report as breed mix shifts practice case load
Canadian veterinarians have subsidized their service fees with pharmacy markups, selling pet medications exclusively through clinics at prices high enough to keep exam fees low. According to a report published by the Competition Bureau of Canada in October 2024, the agency "calling for an end to exclusive distribution practices that block non-veterinarian pharmacies from selling pet medications," according to the report. Costco has already entered the market with prices that veterinary small businesses will struggle to match, according to Dr. Andy Roark, who was recently asked "to speak with a group of Canadian veterinarians facing" the change.
The subsidy model that ends now
Canadian clinics have historically depended "on pharmacy markups and frequent medication sales to support their businesses," Roark writes, using those drug markups to lower their service fees. The Competition Bureau's move to allow non-veterinarian pharmacies to sell pet medications removes that subsidy. Pet owners will see medications they have purchased from veterinarians over the years offered at lower prices at retail chains. The price discrepancy creates both a revenue problem and a perception problem, and Roark notes "there's a real chance that veterinarians will be vilified" when clients notice the gap.
How Canadian practices are responding
Roark reports that some Canadian doctors are ignoring the shift and hoping that pet owners do not notice what is happening. Others are overhauling their business model aggressively, and still others are searching for a compromise approach. All of them are asking what they should do "when the future is so uncertain," Roark writes. The challenge is that practices have historically used pharmacy revenue to subsidize service fees, and when that revenue disappears, the true cost of exams, diagnostics, and procedures will need to be reflected in what practices charge.
The immediate decision is whether to adjust service fees to reflect their actual cost, and if so, how quickly. A practice that has kept exam fees artificially low because pharmacy markups covered overhead will need to decide whether to raise those fees, and whether to do so gradually or all at once. The risk is that clients who discover lower drug prices at Costco will also be facing higher service fees at the same time, which creates both a revenue problem and a trust problem.
Roark frames the larger challenge as a mindset shift, moving from feeling that life is happening to you to recognizing the autonomy you have to shape your response. He calls this "main character energy," the belief that you can build the relationships that matter, grow and develop your "clinical skills, and adapt to be valuable to" your family, community, and employer no matter what the future holds.
According to Roark, "the veterinarians who struggle most will be those who feel life is happening to them," left stranded when the rules change or stuck in practices with models they do not believe in. The veterinarians who will do well are those who adapt, communicate, advocate for themselves and their patients, accept change but not on unconditional terms, and guide that change.
Our read on the Canadian pharmacy shift
We're watching how quickly the price gap becomes visible to clients and whether practices adjust service fees before or after clients notice. The failure mode is waiting for certainty before acting. Practices need to decide what they will look like when pharmacy revenue changes, communicate that to their team and their clients, and make deliberate choices rather than waiting for the change to force their hand.
Roark cannot know how the changing pharmacy market in Canada will affect veterinarians there, but he argues that veterinarians "will have the power, autonomy, and understanding of the circumstances needed to respond." The confidence "to be happy and to navigate the changes" when those changes arrive is what "will define successful veterinarians in a world of chaos and uncertainty," according to Roark.
Our take: the Canadian pharmacy shift is a forcing function, not a verdict. The practices that treat it as a decision they are making, what to charge, when to communicate it, how to frame the value of the exam separate from the prescription, will navigate it differently than the practices waiting to see what happens. The uncertainty is real, but the autonomy to respond is also real, and recognizing that gap is the work.
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