Geographically Widespread Veterinary Service

Policy

When a veterinarian is providing veterinary services to a client in a geographic location that is remote from where the veterinarian lives, that veterinarian should maintain a professional relationship with the local veterinarian(s) in the client’s area.

In situations where a client requests the services of a veterinarian with particular or specialist skills who does not normally reside in the same geographic area and does not normally have the animals in question under his/her immediate care, the contracting veterinarian and the local veterinarian should have an agreement that facilitates legal prescribing, maintains a proper professional relationship and ensures the client gets the best possible service for his/her animals.

Explanation

Veterinarians who service the intensive animal production industries (principally pig and poultry), and veterinarians who have particular skills or expertise in a certain area (such as embryo transfer, or parasite management) often provide veterinary services to clients across a wide geographic area.

Some veterinarians have particular or specialist skills and/or special equipment (e.g. for embryo transfer) and it is reasonable for clients to request them to perform this work while relying on the local veterinarian to provide other veterinary services.

Professional relationships need to be maintained at the highest level.

Prescription animal remedies can only be prescribed or dispensed for animals after a veterinary consultation and only for animals in the immediate care of the prescribing veterinarian. S4.5 of the Code of Professional Conduct defines consultation and immediate care. The NZVA Guidelines for prescribing for the pig and poultry industries define immediate case and other requirements for veterinarians working in those industries.

Veterinary services to intensive animal farming operations over a wide geographic area are based on providing whole herd health programmes to manage production losses or mortalities. Prescribing is generally for groups of animals and often for prevention or control of specific infectious disease.

In some cases farmers in an intensive industry may own other species of animals for which they seek the services of a local veterinarian.

Guidelines for situations involving veterinarians with particular skill or expertise    

1. When the veterinarian with particular skills (the contracting veterinarian) is approached by a client whose animals are not in that veterinarian's immediate care, he/she should:
   1. Ensure that the client realises that the work will be done with the knowledge of their usual veterinarian. The name of the client’s usual veterinarian should be obtained and the reasons given as to why. The way the information is to be used should also be explained.
   2. Contact the client's named veterinarian as early as possible to explain the client’s request and the requirement of the work, particularly when it involves prescription animal remedies, and seek co-operation.
2. The local named veterinarian should:
   1. Accept the client’s wishes and agree to work co-operatively and professionally with the contracted veterinarian
   2. Recognise that the programme to be used is that chosen by the contracted veterinarian and the client. The named prescription animal remedies (without substitution) should be dispensed and the instructions of the contracted veterinarian followed. The usual veterinarian should contact the contracted veterinarian if there are any concerns or problems with drug supply or use.
3. A formal written agreement should be established between the contracting veterinarian and the local veterinarian, whereby the local veterinarian undertakes to supply support services and supplies or prescribes for supply, prescription animal remedies. This agreement may involve the contracting veterinarian paying a fee directly to the local veterinarian, or may establish that the local veterinarian charges the client directly for the services. The agreement should be in writing and should include details about payments, agreed charges for drugs, detailed instructions on dose rates etc. This agreement should also be copied to the client to avoid any challenges of price rigging under the Commerce Act.

Requirements for prescribing for the pig and poultry industries are contained in the NZVA ‘Guidelines for Prescribing or Dispensing Dedication for Veterinarians Working in the Pig Industry’ and ‘Guidelines for Prescribing and Authorising Prescription Medicines and Prescription Animal Remedies for Veterinarians Working in the Poultry Industry’.

Policy Files: 

1j - Geographically Widespread - 16Nov06.pdf