New ‘under care’ regulations for vets

We are writing to our clients because of changes made to prescribing rules by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the regulatory body for Veterinary surgeons in the UK.

The RCVS has recently altered the ‘under care’ regulations for vets prescribing parasite treatment (i.e. treatment for worms, fleas and ticks) for patients. They now classify anti-parasite treatment as antimicrobials, the same category as antibiotics, and have stipulated that veterinary surgeons can only PRESCRIBE parasite treatment following a physical examination of the patient. Our vets can only therefore PRESCRIBE parasite treatment for your pet at a physical examination, either the annual vaccination or the interim 6 month health check. At that point the vet will PRESCRIBE 12 months treatment, although we do not have to DISPENSE all of it at the same time. The vet would make clear on an internal prescription how often and how much antiparasitic treatment can be dispensed.

You will continue to receive reminders at appropriate intervals, and our reception team will have to make some checks that it has been PRESCRIBED before they are able, legally, to dispense the medication.

If you are visiting the practice with your pet for any reason, you can ask the vet to PRESCRIBE the parasite treatment whenever a physical examination is carried out, even if you do not need to collect any at that time. Details of the prescribing will simply be kept on our internal files, for future reference. These regulations apply to all UK veterinary practices and you can read the article from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons here.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we transition to this new system.

Kind Regards,

Tim Pearson, BVMS, MVM, PGCert SADent, MRCVS