PRACTICE GOT A QUESTION? THE FVMA CAN HELP. One of the benefits of an FVMA membership is our Helpline (800.992.3862), which is available to members Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Our Helpline also provides insight to the FVMA staff of the challenges and concerns of our members. In this feature, we will highlight topics from the questions we received in preceding weeks as a part of an effort to keep our members up to date on current concerns, as well as regulatory and legislative changes.
QUESTION: I wanted to know if there are any Florida regulations in place that would prevent an establishment from performing non-anesthetic dentals without a veterinarian present? I am under the impression that anesthetic procedures must be done with a veterinarian present, but what about non-anesthetic procedures like dentals? Can they be performed without a veterinarian on staff? There are several pet boarding facilities that are offering non-anesthetic dental cleanings even though they do not have a veterinarian present, and it's a technician that performs them. I would just like some clarification on this.
A: As is often the case with similar bills, this is an amendment to Chapter 456 in the Florida statues and is applicable to health care practitioners as defined in Chapter 456. That chapter defines health care practitioners as:
“Health care practitioner” means any person licensed under chapter 457; chapter 458; chapter 459; chapter 460; chapter 461; chapter 462; chapter 463; chapter 464; chapter 465; chapter 466; chapter 467; part I, part II, part III, part V, part X, part XIII, or part XIV of chapter 468; chapter 478; chapter 480; part II or part III of chapter 483; chapter 484; chapter 486; chapter 490; or chapter 491.
A: For starters, any dental procedure on an animal, with the
Veterinarians are licensed under Chapter 474 in the Florida statues and, therefore, are not included.
QUESTION: Can I attend the New York Vet Conference to fulfill my CE requirements in Florida?
QUESTION: We are a racetrack practice in Florida and are starting to receive these agreements to sign for use of compounded drugs. Veterinarians are curious about the ramifications of signing these agreements. We are interested in receiving an opinion from the FVMA regarding agreements such as these. What additional liability burden does this place on the practitioner? Does “compounded nonsterile medications for office use" imply that injectable medications are non-sterile?
exception of manually floating teeth on horses, is the practice of veterinary medicine. A technician can perform certain tasks under general supervision, and non-anesthetic dental cleaning can be performed without the veterinarian present but that does not mean a veterinarian is not required. Boarding facilities that have technicians perform dental cleanings without any veterinary supervision (offpremises) are engaging in unlicensed activity.
A: Yes. According to the below statue, approved courses are deemed scientific if continuing education courses are provided by:
61G18-16.003 Continuing Education Standards. (2) (a) National, State and International veterinary association meetings and Board meetings;
QUESTION: There is a lot of confusion about HB 831 and whether it applies to veterinarians prescribing drugs that are controlled by the DEA. I am hoping that you can give me some guidance on this topic. E-signatures are not something I have in my software currently, and I would need them if this bill involves veterinarians. This will certainly cause an increase in cost to get these medicines to our patients.
26 | FVMA ADVOCATE
A: The Florida Board of Pharmacy Rule is below. The agreement is part of the rule, and it incorporates the rule requirements. The only restriction that is not required is the one about dispensing the compounded medication to clients. Under (f)6., the Board recognizes that if the drug is provided to a veterinarian, the “Not for Resale” label is not required.
(3) Office use compounding, “Office use” means the provision and administration of a compounded drug to a patient by a practitioner in the practitioner’s office or by the practitioner in a health care facility or treatment setting, including a hospital, ambulatory surgical center, or pharmacy. A pharmacist may dispense and deliver a quantity of a compounded drug to a practitioner for office use by the practitioner in accordance with this section provided: (a) The quantity of compounded drug does not exceed the amount a practitioner anticipates may be used in the practitioner’s office before the expiration date of the drug; (b) The quantity of compounded drug is reasonable considering
