04/07/2023
Prescription Medications Public Service Announcement/Blowing Off Steam from Michael R. Privett, DVM
Beginning June 11, 2023 a new FDA policy will require veterinary oversight of all antibiotics of importance in human medicine. This means products like penicillin, LA 200, etc. will require a prescription for purchase. This means that your vet will be held, to some degree, responsible for how you use these, like other, prescription products.
I run into a lot, and I mean a lot, of confusion on the issue of prescription medications. While my personal belief on the issue is that if you accept responsibility for your decisions and actions I don’t care that you do dumb things. Unfortunately, the laws of our land don’t see it the same way. I am held partially accountable for what owners do with drugs that I sell or prescribe. With this in mind, let me explain just some of the things that owners should keep in mind.
-A valid Veterinary/Client/Patient relationship. Your vet must be able to show that they have enough knowledge of you, your farm and your animals on a routine and ongoing basis to be willing to accept the responsibility of signing off on you getting prescription drugs. If a vet only sees you every couple years, only serves as your animal ER or only gets a call when others are unavailable or more expensive you do not meet the legal requirements of this relationship.
-Online veterinary pharmacies are the prostitutes of the medical world. You would never call a pharmacy and tell them that you have a sore throat and want them to contact your physician and get approval for Amoxicillin. Online pharmacies, however, have made this a normal occurrence with animal owners. I get multiple faxes each morning sent in by online pharmacies wanting me to sign off on a full spectrum of prescription drugs. I have to pull the client’s records, find out does this animal need to be on this drug, is the dosage and route of administration correct, do I have documentation in my records that I have seen this animal recently for an issue that justifies this medication, explain why they are requesting an unapproved product………. If these criteria are not met then I have to fill out the reason I am denying the request and fax it back. Multiply this process by hundreds of these requests each year and you can understand why it is a real problem. A really big no-no. Don’t call his office angry when he didn’t personally call you explaining why your prescription was denied.
-Don’t ask your small animal vet to approve drugs for farm animals they never see. Don’t ask your large animal vet to approve drugs for your small animals that they never see. If you don’t meet the legal requirements for a valid VCP relationship and you think you are good friends and he should do this, ask yourself when was the last time I invited him over for dinner or was invited to his house for a get together.
Summary- As a veterinarian I am legally obligated to abide by a multitude of rules to maintain my license to practice. I don’t expect my clients to know and memorize these rules but I do expect them to be understanding when I can’t do everything they would like. Be respectful enough of your veterinarian’s time to call and ask permission to use his license for your benefit before you surf the internet for your next drug purchase.
