By early 2003, Alan Coren, DVM, founder of the West Hills Animal Hospital
in Huntington, NY, had had enough of on-line competitors. In
addition to losing sales, some internet pharmacies were casting a negative
light on veterinarians in general through misleading advertising.
Some on-line resellers were resorting to threatening letters demanding
prompt responses to prescription requests or legal action if the
veterinarian did not comply.
It was at about that time that Dr. Coren decided to open his own on-line pharmacy. The plan was simple; sell the products most commonly purchased on-line at a price that is competitive with other on-line pharmacies. Dr. Coren opened his on-line pharmacy in October of 2003. It was an immediate success. Within a few months the new site was generating $1000's of dollars in sales...sales previously lost to on-line competitors. Nearly one year later, the site has seen 150+ clients buy on-line. These are clients that were previously purchasing the products elsewhere.
During a focus-group meeting attended by Dr. Coren, the topic of on-line sales came up. All the veterinarians in the room had two things in common; they were losing sales to on-line pharmacies, and they didn't know what to do about it. Dr. Coren revealed his solution and the other veterinarians began asking how they can open their own on-line pharmacy.
Dr. Coren had an idea; partner with his current Internet Service Provider (ISP) to create an on-line solution specifically for veterinarians. After about six (6) months of development and testing, VIP launched their e-Pharmacy for Veterinarians in June 2004.
VIP continues to enhance their offering based on the comments and suggestions of veterinarians.