Council supports practices in VMR compliance by delaying implementation of anti-parasitics guidance

At its meeting today, 7 September 2023, the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons agreed that, in order to help veterinary practices comply with the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMRs), it would delay until 12 January 2024 the implementation of the specific part of its new ‘under care’ guidance that concerns the prescription of anti-parasitic prescription-only veterinary medicines (POM-Vs).

This decision was made in light of increasing recent reports of widespread non-compliance by veterinary practices with an aspect of the VMRs, which are set by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), and feedback from a number of veterinary practices concerned about their ability now to achieve compliance.

By not complying with VMD rules about including within patient records prescriptions for anti-parasitics that are prescription-only veterinary medicines (POM-Vs), veterinary practices have discovered they are unable to follow the College’s new guidance on under care and remote prescribing, which was published on 20 January 2023 and came into effect on 1 September 2023, without physically examining a large number of animals.

Although there is no specific form for a prescription within patient records, it needs to include enough information so that the person supplying against it knows what to do, whether they are another veterinary surgeon, a veterinary nurse, a suitably-qualified person or a lay member of staff.

“Council felt this would be a compassionate and pragmatic approach in light of the amount of additional work non-compliant practices now need to undertake to rectify their prescribing protocols, whilst at the same time continuing to provide services to the animal-owning public in a period of workforce shortages and high client demand.”

Under the new under care guidance, veterinary surgeons must perform a physical examination as part of their initial clinical assessment of an animal before prescribing POM-V anti-parasitics.

RCVS President, Dr Sue Paterson, said: “While it has been both surprising and disappointing to learn of such widespread non-compliance with legislation that has been in place for many years, Council decided to postpone the implementation of this one aspect of our new under care guidance to allow practices additional time to bring their prescribing protocols into line with VMD rules.

“Council felt this would be a compassionate and pragmatic approach in light of the amount of additional work non-compliant practices now need to undertake to rectify their prescribing protocols, whilst at the same time continuing to provide services to the animal-owning public in a period of workforce shortages and high client demand.”

The delayed implementation date of 12 January 2024 relates only to the prescription of POM-V anti-parasitics. The rest of the new under care guidance remains in effect from 1 September 2023.