The expert registration fee is 300 yuan, but is it more expensive for pets to see a doctor than for humans? Cat fracture costs tens of thousands of yuan. Zhongxin Finance | Beijing | Examination | Medical | Cats | Diagnosis and Treatment | Hospitals | Pets

"If a cat gets sick, it drives the entire family to become 'poor' due to illness," said a "poop collector" who owns a cat in his home, commenting on the medical expenses of his pet.

Many pet owners deeply resonate with this: "If you treat your pet once, your monthly salary will be gone." "It can be as little as a few hundred yuan, or as much as a thousand yuan." "The cost of food is small, and the pressure of going to the hospital is enormous. It is even more expensive for cats and dogs to seek medical treatment than for humans." Nowadays, the problem of expensive pet medical treatment is troubling many people.

Cat fracture costs tens of thousands, expert registration fee of 300 yuan

"The pet hospital is a mix of good and bad, and sometimes various treatment methods are used for minor illnesses and pain. When I took my cat to treat stones, I even encountered situations where the price quoted exceeded ten thousand yuan. Mr. Sun, who has owned two cats before and after, told Zhongxin Finance that his second cat has been sick very few times. In Shenzhen, he finally spent nearly 3000 yuan to treat the cat's stones. Previously, the cat's sterilization surgery cost more than 1000 yuan.".

Mr. Sun said that some pet hospitals take advantage of the pain and affection of pet owners for their pets to "profit from illness". When their first cat suffered from liver disease, some doctors said that treatment would take at least two months, and the cost would be tens of thousands. However, after multiple inquiries and comparisons, he found that continuous medication for this condition of the cat could cost up to a few hundred yuan.

Zhongxin Finance and Economics randomly visited several pet hospitals in Beijing and found that due to pets not being able to speak and unable to reflect their own conditions, pet owners can only roughly describe their symptoms. In the diagnosis and treatment process, pet hospitals often suggest conducting medical equipment examinations to determine the cause of the disease.

Taking the issue of routine fractures in cats as an example, a pet hospital located on the East Fourth Ring Road in Chaoyang District, Beijing, told China News Finance that cats need to be photographed first, with a single fee of 120 yuan. If staff are needed to assist in fixing pets, an additional "guarantee fee" needs to be paid. The surgical cost generally ranges from 5000 to over 10000 yuan. A pet hospital located in Xicheng District, Beijing, stated that at least two films need to be taken to determine the condition of the fracture, with a single price of about three to four hundred yuan.

The third pet hospital first inquired with Zhongxin Finance and Economics about what registration source is needed for pets. The registration fee for orthopedic experts is 300 yuan, including diagnostic fees; The chief physician's registration fee is 50 yuan, and the diagnostic fee is 150 yuan, totaling 200 yuan. The cost of a regular fracture surgery for cats is ten thousand yuan, which does not include hospitalization, medical expenses, and other expenses in the later stage.

Is it still difficult for pet hospitals to make money under high fees?

"In addition to the various fee categories of pet hospitals, the lack of non commercial medical insurance for pets is also one of the reasons for the high cost of medical treatment," Mr. Sun said.

The head of a pet hospital on Zhanzhan Road in Xicheng District, Beijing, told China News Finance that many pet owners feel that medical treatment for pets is more expensive than for humans. On the one hand, pet hospitals are generally private, without various policy subsidies from public hospitals, and pets are rarely covered by medical insurance; On the other hand, the cost of examination and treatment equipment, as well as the use of drugs and consumables, in pet hospitals is also higher than that of ordinary hospitals.

"Many people often have to queue up to go to public hospitals for examinations, but pet hospitals do not have this problem. The utilization rate of pet examination equipment is low, so the cost is much higher. In addition, water and electricity are commercial fees and rent is high, so the profit of pet hospitals is actually not high." The person in charge said.

Zhongxin Finance has noticed that Xinruipeng Pet Medical Group Co., Ltd., a unicorn enterprise in the pet medical field, officially submitted a prospectus in January this year. The prospectus shows that in the first three quarters of 2020, 2021, and 2022, Xinruipeng's revenue was approximately 3.008 billion yuan, 4.784 billion yuan, and 4.315 billion yuan, respectively, with net losses of approximately 1.00 billion yuan, 1.311 billion yuan, and 1.109 billion yuan, respectively. According to calculations, the cumulative loss during the reporting period was 3.42 billion yuan. This means that Xinruipeng has been in a state of increasing revenue without increasing profits in recent years.

Industry insiders have told the media that the claims made by pet hospitals have certain practical factors, but they overlook the level of diagnosis and professional ethics of doctors, which also provides cover for the chaos of minor illnesses and excessive examinations in the pet medical market.

Regulatory intervention to regulate the pet medical market

Zhongxin Finance conducted a query on a complaint platform using the keyword "pet hospital". As of the time of publication, there were 1501 related complaints, including misdiagnosis, induced consumption, overcharging, and excessive medical treatment.

In response to the chaos of pet diagnosis and treatment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice in October 2022 on carrying out a special rectification action to standardize the order of pet diagnosis and treatment in some cities. The notice deployed a special rectification action to standardize the order of pet diagnosis and treatment in cities with more than 200 animal diagnosis and treatment institutions, including Beijing, from October 2022 to May 2023.

According to the website of the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, in the first half of 2023, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Municipal Administration for Market Regulation carried out a special rectification action to standardize the order of pet diagnosis and treatment throughout the city, inspecting a total of 672 pet diagnosis and treatment institutions. During the special rectification period, a total of 25 cases of price violations were investigated and dealt with in the city, with a fine of 29615 yuan.

Sun Yanzheng, Vice Dean of the Teaching Animal Hospital of China Agricultural University, told the media that in the face of frequent consumer questioning in the pet diagnosis and treatment market, strengthening the supervision of the pet medical market is the trend. On the one hand, spontaneous market regulation should strictly comply with relevant regulations such as the "Management Measures for Animal Diagnosis and Treatment Structure", and practitioners should establish a strong awareness of engaging in pet diagnosis and treatment in accordance with the law; On the other hand, administrative supervision and industry self-discipline should keep up, increase transparency and openness in the entire process of pet diagnosis and treatment, eliminate induced consumption, and enable doctors to return to their original intentions during surgery, examination, and medication.