No. CS/HB 805
Filed under Healthcare.
Veterinary Medicine; Defines "veterinary professional associate"; increases amount of time for which prescriptions based solely on veterinary telehealth evaluation may be issued for certain drugs; revises applicability of certain exemptions; provides requirements for veterinary professional associates to receive certificates of registration from DBPR; requires department to make list of veterinary professional associate registrants publicly available on its website; authorizes department to suspend registration of veterinary professional associate upon certain determination by Board of Veterinary Medicine; authorizes department to rescind registration of veterinary professional associate; prohibits person from holding himself or herself out as veterinary professional associate; authorizes registered veterinary professional associate to engage in practice of veterinary medicine; prohibits registered veterinary professional associate from taking certain actions.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDThe bill creates a new mid-level role, the veterinary professional associate, for people with a master's degree in veterinary clinical care. Registered associates may practice veterinary medicine under a licensed veterinarian's supervision.
These associates may perform specific surgeries, including castration, dental surgery, and suturing of skin or gum incisions, but may not prescribe controlled substances except to administer euthanasia drugs a veterinarian has delegated.
Registration requires graduating an accredited program and passing a national exam. The department can suspend a registration for negligence that seriously harms an animal, and can rescind it for an animal cruelty or fighting conviction.
Prescriptions written after only a telehealth evaluation can now cover 6 months of flea and tick medication, up from 1 month, and 30 days of other animal drugs, up from 14, before an in-person exam is required.
AIEstablishes a registered 'veterinary professional associate' who may practice veterinary medicine, not just assist with it, as long as a licensed veterinarian is responsibly supervising and the associate is competent to perform the task.
AILets a registered associate perform castration, veterinary dental surgery, and suturing or stapling of skin or gum incisions, even though the associate is not a licensed veterinarian.
AIThe department must verify that an applicant graduated from an accredited veterinary-associate program and passed a board-approved national competency exam before issuing a certificate of registration, and must list registrants publicly online.
AIA prescription based solely on a telehealth evaluation, with no in-person exam, can now cover 6 months of flea and tick control product, up from 1 month, and 30 days of other animal drugs, up from 14.
AIAn associate may not prescribe a controlled substance, but may still perform euthanasia and prepare, log, and administer controlled substances for analgesia, anesthesia, or humane euthanasia if a veterinarian has delegated that task.
AIThe department may suspend a registration when the board finds an associate caused serious harm to an animal through negligence, incompetence, or misconduct, and may rescind it outright for an animal cruelty or animal fighting conviction.
AIOnly a veterinarian could immunize or treat an animal for a disease communicable to humans; the bill adds registered veterinary professional associates to that carve-out alongside the existing rabies-vaccination exception.