Implementation date approved for new ‘under care’ guidance
The new guidance will be reviewed after 12 months.
The RCVS Council has voted to approve the implementation and review dates for its new guidance on prescribing prescription-only veterinary medicines (POM-Vs) to an animal that is ‘under care’ of a veterinary surgeon.
A majority of council members voted for the guidance to come into force from 1 September 2023 and it was unanimously agreed that a review of the guidance would be carried out after 12 months, with the Standards Committee monitoring its impact on an ongoing basis.
Under the new guidance, it will no longer be a requirement for veterinary surgeons to conduct a physical examination before prescribing POM-Vs. Instead, they will be allowed to conduct clinical assessments remotely and will be able to use their own judgement to decide whether they have enough information to prescribe safely and effectively.
Some final changes to the guidance were also agreed. This included altering the wording of the guidance so that veterinary surgeons ‘must', rather then ‘should’, be able to physically examine the animal under care or visit the premises in the case of equine, production or farmed aquatic animals and game.
Draft case study scenarios, which had been developed by the RCVS Standards & Advice Team, were discussed by members during the meeting,
Linda Belton MRCVS, chair of the RCVS Standards Committee, said: “I would like to thank all the organisations and individuals within the professions who helped provide the crucial content and context for the case study scenarios, as well as feedback to make sure they were realistic and applicable in practice.
“Thank you also to all those who have fed into the further improvements that have been made to the guidance and I would like to reassure those with concerns that the guidance is robust, we have considered how it will be enforced and we will continue to review the guidance.”
Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS registrar, added: “Ahead of it coming into force, we will also be publishing resources about the guidance, including the case studies that we are currently finalising, and some FAQs. We hope these will help to further explain the context behind the guidance changes, and help to counter any misunderstanding about the impact of the guidance and what it will actually mean for practising professionals on a day-to-day basis.”
Further information about the guidance can be found on the RCVS website.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
