With the exceptions of routine or non-prescription treatments (shampoos, certain antiparasite treatments, supplements etc) we are obliged under Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) guidelines to examine animals who are on certain long term medication(s) at regular intervals. These intervals are generally at the discretion of the treating veterinary surgeon but are usually not greater than every six months.
We have to perform these examinations to make sure that the medication is still appropriate and safe to continue using with your pet’s condition.
We may also need to assess whether your pet’s weight has changed (which may alter the drug dose) and we also get to address any new concerns that you may have with regards to any aspect of your pet’s health.
Excerpt from the current RCVS Code of Conduct:
4.9 The Veterinary Medicines Regulations do not define the phrase 'under his care' and the RCVS has interpreted it as meaning that:
- the veterinary surgeon must have been given the responsibility for the health of the animal or herd by the owner or the owner's agent
- that responsibility must be real and not nominal
- the animal or herd must have been seen immediately before prescription or,
- recently enough or often enough for the veterinary surgeon to have personal knowledge of the condition of the animal or current health status of the herd or flock to make a diagnosis and prescribe
- the veterinary surgeon must maintain clinical records of that herd/flock/individual
4.10 What amounts to 'recent enough' must be a matter for the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon in the individual case.
