Monday, December 30, 2013

Prescription Law Changes That Impact Veterinary Practices--Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, and Virginia Clarify in office use rules

A New Jersey bill was introduced to require veterinarians to provide written prescriptions as well as oral and written notification that the prescription item may be obtained from sources other than the veterinarian. The Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board is considering regulations to require veterinarians to provide a written prescription to a client upon request. Similar legislation was not introduced in Congress in 2013. The Federal Trade Commission has not yet issued a report or findings after holding a workshop on this topic in the fall of 2012.

The State Agricultural and Rural Leaders, a national group of state legislators, endorsed a resolution supporting The Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2013, currently pending in the U.S. Congress. The legislation aims to change federal law that some DEA offices have interpreted as prohibiting veterinarians from transporting controlled substances to administer and treat patients outside of a registered location. The amendment would clarify that a veterinarian may transport controlled substances outside a registered location (i.e., clinic, hospital, office or clinician's home) to provide comprehensive veterinary care and to protect animal health and welfare.

Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Texas and Virginia issued rules clarifying in-office use or dispensing of compounded products. The newly-passed federal law, the Drug Quality and Security Act, only regulates compounding pharmacies that produce drugs for human medicine. However, some of the compounding pharmacies that are subject to the law also compound drugs for veterinary medicine and will be impacted.

Concluding a five-year study, a Kansas legislative task force reached the conclusion that veterinarians should not be included in the state's prescription monitoring program. Similarly, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin have decided to exempt licensed veterinarians from the requirements of their state programs, either completely or in certain conditions. Connecticut, Louisiana and Rhode Island made changes or expanded their prescription monitoring programs, which include veterinarians as mandated reporters. The Washington State Department of Health issued rules to implement statutory law that provides alternative, less-burdensome reporting requirements for veterinarians.

quoted from the AVMA

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