Vet Help For Your Pet

There is a new bill being introduced called HR1528. What does this have to do with veterinarians, you ask? Well, current interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act dictates that a controlled substance can only be prescribed from a registered clinic, pharmacy, or home. The only way to dispense these medications at an animal owner’s home is for them to register that location with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

So here is a hypothetical: You have a horse that “colics” at midnight and you need a vet to come out. The vet comes, but can’t administer pain medication (a controlled substance) to your horse. They can, however, go back to their office, fill out the required paperwork – hopefully online, get the needed drugs and come back out to give the pain meds to your horse. And we’ll all just have to hope this is pretty instantaneous. Otherwise, the colicky horse could be waiting 3 to 5 business days before it gets its pain medication.

Euthanasia solution also falls into this category, so if something bad happens at an unplanned time, the animal may have to suffer till the vet travels back to their place of business, files paperwork, retrieves medication and then returns to help your animal.

All in all, it could be very detrimental to animals’ health if amendments to this act aren’t made to allow vets to do the job they have always done without being fined or having their licenses put in jeopardy. HR 1528 proposes an amendment to the Controlled Substances Act allowing veterinarians to carry the needed drugs. Veterinarians and pets need you to call your representatives to let them know you support this legislation. For more information go to the following AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) website: https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/National/Documents/HR1528%20VMMA_%20IB.pdf

―Jennifer Bracken is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Animal Haven Clinic in Farmington, NM.