Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 12, March 20, 2024
Each veterinarian shall meet the following minimum standards in
the practice of veterinary medicine:
(a) Storage compartments. Each veterinarian
shall maintain clean, orderly, and protective storage compartments for drugs,
supplies, and equipment. Refrigeration shall be available for drugs that
require it.
(b) Field
sterilization. Each veterinarian shall provide a means of sterilizing
instruments when practicing veterinary medicine away from a veterinary
premises.
(c) Conflict of interest.
When representing conflicting interests, including representation of both the
buyer and the seller of an animal to be inspected for soundness, the
veterinarian shall make full disclosure of the dual relationship and shall
obtain documented consent from all parties to the transaction.
(d) Certificates of veterinary inspection. A
veterinarian shall not issue a certificate of veterinary inspection unless the
veterinarian has personal knowledge, obtained through actual inspection and
appropriate tests of the animal, that the animal meets the requirements of the
certificate.
(e) Patient
acceptance. Each veterinarian shall decide which medical cases will be accepted
in the veterinarian's professional capacity and what course of treatment will
be followed once a patient has been accepted. The veterinarian shall be
responsible for advising the client as to the treatment to be
provided.
(f) Control of services.
A veterinarian shall not allow any professional services to be controlled or
exploited by any lay entity, personal or corporate, that intervenes between the
client and the veterinarian. A veterinarian shall not allow a nonlicensed
person or entity to interfere with or intervene in the veterinarian's practice
of veterinary medicine. Each veterinarian shall be responsible for the
veterinarian's own actions and shall be directly responsible to the client for
the care and treatment of the patient.
(g) Anesthesia and anesthetic equipment. Each
veterinarian shall provide anesthesia services as needed. Each anesthetic agent
shall be administered only by a veterinarian or a person trained in its
administration under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian. Each
veterinarian shall use disinfectants capable of eliminating harmful viruses and
bacteria for cleaning anesthetic equipment.
(h) Patient records.
(1) Length of maintenance. Each veterinarian
shall maintain a patient record for three years from the date of the last
visit.
(2) Necessary elements. Each
veterinarian shall ensure that all patient records are legible and made
contemporaneously with treatment or services rendered. All records shall
include the following elements:
(A) Patient
identification. Patient identification shall include the patient's name,
species, breed, age or date of birth, sex, color, and markings;
(B) client identification. Client
identification shall include the owner's name, home address, and telephone
number;
(C) a vaccination record;
and
(D) a complete record of the
physical examination findings and treatment or services rendered.
(3) Manner of maintenance. Each
veterinarian shall maintain records in a manner that will permit any authorized
veterinarian to proceed with the care and treatment of the animal, if required,
by reading the medical record of that particular patient.
(i) Medication records. The veterinarian
shall ensure that each dose of a medication administered is properly recorded
on the patient's medical record. All drugs shall be administered and dispensed
only upon the order of a licensed veterinarian.
(j) Controlled drugs. The veterinarian shall
ensure that a separate written ledger that includes the current quantity on
hand is maintained when a controlled drug is administered or
dispensed.
(k) Locked area. If
controlled drugs are used, the veterinarian shall ensure that a locked area for
the storage of controlled substances is provided.
(l) Dispensation of medications for companion
animals.
(1) All prescription drugs to be
dispensed for use by a companion animal may be dispensed only on the order of a
licensed veterinarian who has an existing veterinary-client-patient
relationship as defined by the Kansas veterinary practice act. The veterinarian
shall ensure that labels will be affixed to any unlabeled container containing
any medication dispensed and to each factory-labeled container that contains
prescription drugs or controlled substances dispensed for companion animals.
The label shall be affixed to the immediate container and shall include the
following information:
(A) The name and
address of the veterinarian and, if the drug is a controlled substance, the
veterinarian's telephone number;
(B) the date of delivery or
dispensing;
(C) the name of the
patient, the client's name, and, if the drug is a controlled substance, the
client's address;
(D) the species
of the animal;
(E) the name, active
ingredient, strength, and quantity of the drug dispensed;
(F) directions for use specified by the
practitioner, including dosage, frequency, route of administration, and
duration of therapy; and
(G) any
cautionary statements required by law, including statements indicating that the
drug is not for human consumption, is poisonous, or has withdrawal periods
associated with the drug. If the size of the immediate container is
insufficient to be labeled, the container shall be enclosed within another
container large enough to be labeled.
(2) Upon request of a client, each licensed
veterinarian shall provide a written prescription for a prescription drug to a
client instead of dispensing the prescription drug.
(m) Dispensation of medications for food or
commercial animals. All prescription drugs to be dispensed for food used by a
food animal or used by a commercial animal may be dispensed only on a written
order of a licensed veterinarian with an existing veterinary-client-patient
relationship as defined by the Kansas veterinary practice act. That
veterinarian shall maintain the original written order on file in the
veterinarian's office. A copy of the written order shall be on file with the
distributor, and a second copy shall be maintained on the premises of the
patient-client. The written order shall include the following information:
(1) The name and address of the veterinarian
and, if the drug is a controlled substance, the veterinarian's telephone
number;
(2) the date of delivery or
dispensing;
(3) the name of the
patient, the client's name, and, if the drug is a controlled substance, the
client's address;
(4) the species
or breed, or both, of the animal;
(5)
(A) The
established name or active ingredient of each drug or, if formulated from more
than one ingredient, the established name of each ingredient; and
(B) the strength and quantity of each drug
dispensed; and
(6)
directions for use specified by the practitioner, including the following:
(A) The class or species of the animal or
animals receiving the drug or some other identification of the animals;
and
(B) the dosage, the frequency
and route of administration, and duration of therapy; and
(C) any cautionary statements required by
law, including statements indicating whether the drug is not for human
consumption or is poisonous or whether there are withdrawal periods associated
with the drug.
(n) Supervision.
(1) Each veterinarian shall provide direct
supervision of any employee or associate of the veterinarian who participates
in the practice of veterinary medicine, except that a veterinarian may provide
indirect supervision to any person who meets either of the following
conditions:
(A) Is following the written
instructions for treatment of the animal patient on the veterinary premises;
or
(B) has completed three or more
years of study in a school of veterinary medicine.
(2) A veterinarian may delegate to an
employee or associate of the veterinarian only those activities within the
practice of veterinary medicine that are consistent with that person's
training, experience, and professional competence. A veterinarian shall not
delegate any of the following:
(A) The
activities of diagnosis;
(B)
performance of any surgical procedure; or
(C) prescription of any drug, medicine,
biologic, apparatus, application, anesthesia, or other therapeutic or
diagnostic substance or technique.
(o) Pain management. Each veterinarian shall
use appropriate and humane methods of anesthesia, analgesia, and sedation to
minimize pain and distress during any procedures on companion
animals.
