Section 471-2.5 - Veterinary telemedicine(a) A veterinarian shall only practice veterinary telemedicine within the context of the veterinarian-client-patient relationship between medically necessary examinations of an animal patient or medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises where the animal patient is kept.(b) Only a veterinarian licensed in the State shall provide veterinary telemedicine to an animal patient located in the State.(c) When practicing veterinary telemedicine, a veterinarian shall:(1) Conduct all necessary animal patient evaluations consistently with currently acceptable standards of care;(2) Take appropriate precautions to safeguard the confidentiality of a client's or animal patient's records;(3) Ensure that the client is aware of the veterinarian's identity, location, license number, and licensure status; and(4) Maintain appropriate medical records with sufficient information for continued care that are readily available upon request by the client.(d) Prescribing medications via veterinary telemedicine shall require a veterinarian-client-patient relationship and shall be at the professional discretion of the veterinarian. The indication, appropriateness, and safety considerations for each prescription issued in association with veterinary telemedicine services shall be evaluated by the veterinarian in accordance with all jurisdictional and federal laws and standards of care.(e) A veterinarian may provide veterinary teleadvice or veterinary teletriage without the prior establishment of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship. An expert with a poison control agency who is not a veterinarian may provide veterinary teletriage.(f) A veterinarian may provide veterinary telesupervision for tasks that do not require direct supervision as specified by rules adopted by the board.(g) Veterinary telemedicine shall constitute the practice of veterinary medicine in the State when the individual practicing veterinary telemedicine or the animal patient are in the State. The board shall have jurisdiction over an individual practicing veterinary telemedicine within the State regardless of where the veterinarian's physical offices are located.(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter federal or state requirements and standards for the issuance of Certificates of Veterinary Inspection or health certificates.Added by L 2022, c 71,§ 1, eff. 6/17/2022.