Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 700-8-.01 - Unprofessional Conduct
Within the meaning of Ga. Code subsection 43-50-21(a)(7), unprofessional conduct means:
(a)
Advertising - defined: Advertising shall mean any information communicated in a
manner designed to attract public attention to the practice of the licensee or
registrant. Advertising shall include but not be limited to, a communication,
published or displayed through the use of newspaper, internet, telephone
directory, pamphlets or handouts, radio, television, signs, billboard, window
display or any other means of medium.
1. A
licensee or registrant shall not make any false, misleading or deceptive
communication in any form of advertising.
2. Advertisement of prices must contain a
complete description of veterinary services included in any advertised price
and disclosure of any extra charges that may be required to serve the
consumer's needs.
(b)
Professional Relationships:
1. It shall be
unprofessional conduct for a licensee or registrant without just cause and in
bad faith or for the purpose of soliciting patronage or personal pecuniary gain
to disparage the profession or professional capabilities of another licensee or
registrant.
2. It shall be
unprofessional conduct to aid any person, firm, or corporation to engage in the
unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine.
3. It shall be unprofessional conduct for a
licensee or registrant to guarantee a cure or to offer his name in a commercial
setting in a testimonial as to virtues of proprietary remedies or
foods.
4. Consultation by an
attending veterinarian with other veterinarian expert in the particular matter
on which consultation is sought is in the public interest and thus is expected
of the attending veterinarian when the need arises. But such consultation is
discouraged if the consulting veterinarian employs the relationship so created
to disparage the attending veterinarian or to solicit business; such practices
are not in the public interest.
(i) It shall
therefore be unprofessional conduct for a licensee called as a consulting
veterinarian to disparage in the presence of the client the competence of the
attending veterinarian. The Board does, however, expect any incompetence or
negligence to be reported to it and nothing in this rule prohibits such reports
or the giving of testimony in public or private litigation.
(ii) It shall be unprofessional conduct for a
consulting veterinarian to assume unauthorized control of the case or to
utilize the consulting relationship to solicit business for himself or
others.
5. It shall be
unprofessional conduct for a licensee employed to render professional advice by
one party in negotiations concerning the sale of an animal to accept to a fee
from the other party.
(c)
Failure to Maintain Patient Records:
1. A
veterinarian shall prepare and maintain a record reflecting the care and
treatment of animals treated.
2.
These records shall contain clinical information sufficient to justify the
diagnosis and warrant treatment and shall, if applicable, include but not be
limited to the following information:
(i)
Name, address, and telephone number of the animal's owner;
(ii) Name of attending veterinarian and staff
rendering care;
(iii) Patient
identification, including name, ages, sex and breed;
(iv) Dates of examination, treatment and
custody of the animal;
(v) Patient
history;
(vi) Presenting
complaint;
(vii) Vaccination
history;
(viii) Findings from
physical examination, including temperature and weight;
(ix) Clinical lab reports, if
applicable;
(x) Medication and
treatment, including frequency;
(xi) Anesthetic, including type and amount,
if applicable;
(xii) Details of
surgical procedure with complications and/or abnormalities noted, if
applicable;
(xiii) Progress and
disposition of the case;
(xiv)
Differential diagnoses; and
(xv)
X-rays if applicable.
3.
All records shall be kept in a readily retrievable form, shall be recorded
contemporaneously, and shall be filed promptly following treatment.
4. Patient records shall be kept by a
veterinarian for three (3) years after a patient's last visit, notwithstanding
any other provisions of law.
5.
Copies of patient records must be made available to the owner of the animal
upon written request to the veterinarian who treated the animal or to the
veterinarian facility where the treatment was provided. Such records must be
made available within ten (10) business days from request. The veterinarian may
charge a reasonable charge for the search, retrieval, duplication and, if
applicable, mailing of the patient records.
6. Failure to keep records as required by
this subparagraph shall constitute a failure to conform to the minimal
standards of acceptable and prevailing veterinary medical practice.
(d) Failure to have an appropriate
Veterinarian/Client/Patient Relationship. An appropriate
veterinarian/client/patient relationship will exist when:
1. The veterinarian has assumed the
responsibility for making medical judgments regarding the health of the
animal(s) and the need for medical treatment, and the client (owner or other
caretaker) has agreed to follow the instructions of the veterinarian;
2. There is sufficient knowledge of the
animal(s) by the veterinarian to initiate at least a general or preliminary
diagnosis of the medical condition of the animal(s). This means that the
veterinarian is personally acquainted with the keeping and care of the
animal(s) by virtue of:
(i) an examination of
the animal by the veterinarian within the last twelve (12) months, or
(ii) medically appropriate and timely visits
by the veterinarian to the premises where the patient is kept.;
3. A veterinarian/client/patient
relationship cannot be established solely by telephone, computer, or other
electronic means; however,
(i) Once a
veterinarian/client/patient relationship is established, it may be maintained
telephonically, electronically, or by any other method of communication
between:
A. In person medically necessary
examinations; or,
B. Visits to the
premises where the animal is kept, provided that it is within the periods of
time that are appropriate for the medical issue in question and the species and
age of the animal; and,
C. A
failure to require in person examinations or visits in accordance with the
minimum standard of care for the diagnosis, treatment, or other practice of
veterinary medicine for an animal shall be considered unprofessional conduct.
i. A licensed veterinarian may provide advice
and recommendations via electronic means in an emergency where death is
imminent if an in-person examination of the patient will be conducted within 60
minutes of the provision of such advice or recommendations; and,
4. A licensed
veterinarian is readily available for follow-up in case of adverse reactions or
failure of the regimen of therapy.
(e) Prescription Drugs:
1. It is unlawful for a veterinarian to
release, prescribe, and/or dispense any prescription drugs without having
established a valid veterinary/client/patient relationship.
2. After a valid veterinary/client/patient
relationship has been established, a veterinarian must make available, upon
request, at a reasonable cost, a written prescription.
(f) Failure to cooperate with an
investigation of the board to include but not limited to allowing agents of the
Board to inspect veterinary premises and equipment, including mobile veterinary
clinics.
Notes
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