You can find the final report of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s vet services market investigation and requirements here: What veterinary businesses and vets need to do following the CMA’s final vets report

The time to comply with the CMA requirements varies by remedy and size of business, with smaller businesses (those with fewer than 15  first opinion practices (FOPs))  generally having more time than larger businesses (those with 15  FOPs or more).

The CMA’s timetable provides a simple overview of when you need to make the changes.

You’ll need to clearly provide a comprehensive price list for standard services, both in‑practice and on your website (if you have one). You will also need to share your pricing with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

The price list should include things like consultations, common procedures, diagnostics, written prescriptions and cremation options.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I create financial reports for current and historical prices?
• How do I add/update a product?

Clients must be able to clearly understand the difference between individual and communal cremation options, what each option costs, and any available add‑ons or variations. This information must be provided in writing at the point the cremation decision is made.

There are various ways to share this information with your clients. Apart from a dedicated letter or leaflet, you can also use estimates, or the “product information sheet” field (Label tab) and the “letter” field (Product Info tab) to share this information with your clients.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I add a letter or email (template)?
• Learning Path: Content Designer
• How do I create an estimate for a treatment?
• How do I add a new product? (Tab Label and Tab Product Info)

Every invoice should clearly show exactly what the client has been charged for, with each product, service and fee listed separately. Pricing must be transparent and easy to follow, avoiding bundled charges or ambiguous line items that could confuse or mislead pet owners.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I create a new invoice template?
• How do I add/update a product?
• How do I set up combi products?

To improve transparency, new caps have been introduced to ensure prescription fees remain reasonable and consistent across the sector. Written prescription fees are capped at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for each additional medicine.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I set up combi products?

If a course of treatment is reasonably expected to cost more than £500 including VAT, including any aftercare, you must provide the client with a written estimate before treatment begins. This helps set clear expectations around costs, with emergency situations being the only permitted exception.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I create an estimate for a treatment?

Under the new rules, you need to make it clear to clients that written prescriptions are available and that medicines may be cheaper from other retailers.

The information and materials that need to be provided to pet owners will be designed and made available by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and CMA. You will not need to develop these materials yourself.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I create a written prescription in Animana?
• How do I upload/update my letter header and footer?
• How do I add a new product? (Tab Label or Tab Product Info)

Practices are expected to publish the prices of their most commonly sold flea, tick and worming products, both on their website and in practice. This includes a prominent link to the VMD Register of Online Retailers so that pet owners can compare options and make informed choices.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I create financial reports for current and historical prices?
• How do I create product groups?
• How do I move products between product groups?
• How do I create analysis groups?
• How can I build a custom report in Animana?

If you offer pet care or wellness plans, pet owners must be able to clearly understand what is included, how often services are provided, and what each service would cost on its own. This transparency helps clients assess whether the plan offers genuine value and meaningful savings.

Help articles to support you:

• Learning Path: Pet Health Plan
• Learning Path: Content Designer
• How do I add a letter or email (template)?
• How do I add a new product? (Tab Product Info)

If your practice is part of a veterinary group, the CMA requires you to clearly and prominently identify that group across all customer-facing touchpoints. This applies to you if you operate one or more first opinion practices (FOPs), or any combination of FOPs, online pharmacies, referral centres, out-of-hours practices, animal hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and pet crematoria.

Apart from your website, digital communications, and visibility in-practice, you should make sure your group identity appears consistently in emails, reminders, invoices, and
other client correspondence.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I upload/update my letter header and footer?
• How do I create a new invoice template?

Animana provides the ability to combine (custom) protocols with combi-products to make a “combi protocol”. This feature allows you to link a protocol to a combi-product and use it as a complete package on a patient file. This can be handy if you want to standardise the way you work in certain procedures.

Help articles to support you:

• How do I set up combi products?
• How do I create a new basic custom protocol?
• How do I edit a custom protocol?
• How do I create a combi protocol?

IDEXX Animana is a cloud-based Practice Management System providing secure access to your practice data. Animana is designed to support your day-to-day work by keeping patient data centralised and standardising processes, leaving you more time to care for your practice.