Selfies and other images not proof of VCPR
Forget about taking selfies or other images to prove you have a legitimate veterinary-client-patient relationship.
Videos or photos cannot be used as a way to document the VCPR needed to obtain a veterinary feed directive, according to William T. Flynn, DVM, MS, deputy director for science policy, FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine.1
The VFD rule expects licensed veterinarians issuing VFDs to operate in compliance with either their state- or federally defined VCPR. State definitions are recognized by FDA if they include key elements of the federally defined VCPR.
One key element of the federal VCPR definition requires veterinarians to have sufficient knowledge of the patient by virtue of patient examination and/or visits to the facility where the patients are managed.
“Therefore, for the purposes of issuing a VFD, a VCPR cannot be established by video/photos,” Flynn said in a letter to the Farm Foundation.
Veterinarians writing VFDs can find out if they are operating in compliance with their state- or federally defined VCPR by checking the FDA’s reference list under their state or the federal definition.
1. Informal communication from William T. Flynn, DVM, MS, deputy director for science policy, FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, to Sheldon R. Jones, Farm Foundation, NFP. March 4, 2016.
Posted on October 29, 2016
