Laws & Ethics

2.1 Veterinary Laws and Ethics

Veterinary State Practice Acts

  • States have laws or codes that tell what skills and procedures each of the veterinary professionals may legally perform in each specific state

  • The Veterinary State Practice Act also tells the following

    • How individuals apply for licenses and are licensed

    • What continuing education is required

    • Rules of professional conduct that veterinarians must follow

    • Record-keeping rules

    • Duties and makeup of the State Board of Veterinary Medicine

Veterinary Careers

  • Veterinary State Practice Acts: laws that define what tasks each veterinary professional may perform

    • Veterinarian

      • DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)

      • VMD (Veterinary Medicine Doctor (UPenn))

    • Veterinary Technologist

      • Has their bachelors

    • Veterinary Technician

      • Has their associates

    • Veterinary Assistant

      • Certification

Malpractice

  • In order for litigation - must prove 3 elements

    • Vet agreed to treat patient

    • Vet failed to exercise the necessary legal obligation of skill and diligence in treatment

    • Negligence caused injury to the patient

Veterinarian-Client-Patient-Relationships

  • Veterinarians must establish relationships with clients to be able to practice veterinary medicine according to most veterinary state practice acts

Reporting Abuse and Neglect

  • Most Veterinary State Practice Acts require veterinarians to report animal abuse and neglect to local authorities

    • Many states protect veterinarians from any legal action stemming from such reports

  • Recordkeeping and documentation are important parts of reporting

  • Veterinarians should educate their clients about humane care and treatment of animals

Veterinary Medical Ethics

  • Ethics

    • Moral principles that govern one’s behavior

    • There is a fine line between legal and ethical violations

  • Animal owners desire more procedures and techniques to change and manage their animals

    • Veterinarians must consider if they ethically agree with what they are being asked to do

    • Procedure examples

      • Tail docking

      • Debarking

      • Ear cropping

      • Declawing

Abbreviations

  • AVMA

    • American Veterinary Medical Association

    • Accredits Vet Tech programs & acts as collective voice for veterinarians

  • NAVTA

    • National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America

    • Accredit Vet Assistant programs & acts as collective voice for vet techs

  • AVA

    • Approved Veterinary Assistant

    • Title of certificate after passing the AVA exam and successful completion of CHS Vet Science program

  • AAHA

    • American Animal Hospital Association

    • Sets standards & guidelines for veterinary hospitals

  • VETMEDTEAM

    • 1st website offering continuing education for entire vet team

Definition

  • Medical Record

    • A legal document that records sequential health events each time the patient is seen by the veterinarian

    • Summarizes the patient's medical history

      • Illness

      • Symptoms

      • Past treatments

      • Medications

Purpose

  • Provides continuity

    • Current veterinarian

    • Multiple veterinarians

  • Offers quick, easy access to information

    • Vaccinations

    • Master problem list

  • Gives financial history

    • Receipts from past visits

  • Serves as a legal document

    • Confidential

Legal Documentation

  • Medical records are owned by the veterinary practice

  • The attending veterinarian is authorized to release medical information only to other practices

  • Hand written with blue or black ink

  • Maintaining files

    • Inactive files are removed and stored

  • Purging files

    • Eliminate hard copies after seven years

Filing Systems

  • Numerical Filing

    • Each fluent or specific patient is assigned and filed by a specific account number

    • Color Coding

      • A color is assigned to numbers 0 to 9

  • Alphabetical Filing

    • Each client is filed alphabetically by owner’s last name, first name, middle initial and patient name

    • Color Coding

      • Color is assigned to specific letters