What is the term for the price a veterinary hospital pays for an item?

The term for the price a veterinary hospital pays for an item is "cost." This represents the actual expense incurred by the hospital to acquire the product, which includes expenses such as purchase price, shipping, and any applicable taxes or fees. Understanding cost is crucial in veterinary practice as it directly impacts pricing strategies for services and products offered to clients.

The other terms, while related to pricing, refer to different aspects of pricing strategies. The list price is typically what the manufacturer suggests as the retail price before discounts; the retail price is the amount consumers actually pay at the point of sale, which may include markups applied by the veterinary practice; and the sale price refers to a reduced price during a promotional event or sale. Each of these terms denotes a price point from different perspectives in the selling process, but they do not capture the fundamental concept of cost, which is specific to what the practice pays to procure the item.