PRACTICE Pulse QUESTION: How long must we keep medical records?
A: The DBPR, “Rule 61G18-18.002(1), Florida Administrative Code,
provides that you must keep records three years from the date of last entry, including X-rays.” 61G18-18.002 Maintenance of Medical Records. (1) There must be an individual medical record maintained on every patient examined or administered to by the veterinarian, except as provided in (2) below, for a period of not less than three years after date of last entry. The medical record shall contain all clinical information pertaining to the patient with sufficient information to justify the diagnosis or determination of health status and warrant any treatment recommended or administered.
QUESTION: I had a practitioner in our area who recently retired
and asked what is the recommended time frame for a practitioner to continue to carry liability insurance in case of a claim that arises post-retirement for a case the practitioner was managing prior to retirement?
A: “The statute of limitations for professional services malpractice is two years. Carrying malpractice for two years after retirement would cover this.” This is called “tail coverage,” which is less costly considering the veterinarian is no longer actively practicing.
QUESTION: Who keeps track of my CE hours?
A:
Per the DBPR, “it is the responsibility of the licensee to keep track of his or her continuing education hours. If you are audited by the board, you will be required to show proof of your 30 hours.” The FVMA keeps records of any conferences, wet labs and online CE courses attended. If you need an additional copy of a certificate of attendance, please email membership@fvma.org.
QUESTION: Are all 15 hours for CVTs allowed to be online during this next renewal period? Or are in-person classes required?
A: Current CVT certifications are valid through December 31, 2023. Continuing education requirements are evaluated each cycle and the FVMA will communicate requirements with ample time to be satisfied. Please continue to check FVMA correspondence for any updates.
QUESTION: We've recently had a change in management with
policies that seem misguided for our controlled drug record keeping. We had been told by previous management that it is a requirement to write a patient's address and the reason we are administering the
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controlled medication in the written drug logs. We currently use a computerized system for our medical records that contain all this information, and I would like to perform the correct policy. Is it a requirement to have this information in the written drug log since we have it in our computerized system?
A: The Code of Federal Regulations lists the information that is
required to be maintained, but it doesn’t say how. The records must be "readily retrievable." The definition of “readily retrievable” is: "Readily retrievable means that certain records are kept by automatic data processing systems or other electronic or mechanized recordkeeping systems in such a manner that they can be separated out from all other records in a reasonable time and/or records are kept on which certain items are asterisked, redlined, or in some other manner visually identifiable apart from other items appearing on the records." So, electronic records are allowed as long as they are readily retrievable.
QUESTION: We see in the law it states that 24-hour emergency services must be provided from the DVM at the practice, or from another licensed veterinarian. Does this mean that if we chose to discontinue providing emergency services, we can provide the contact information for the closest 24-hour emergency location and that would be sufficient to meet what the law requires? The minimum standards (61G18-15.002) states that a telephone must be answered 24 hours a day which one may call for emergency service, and that a legible phone number should be posted for emergency service. So, can this number be the number for the 24-hour emergency clinic, and that will meet the two above items? Lastly, the closest clinic that provides 24-hour service is about 58 minutes away. I do not find anything in the law that dictates distance, can you advise?
A:
If the veterinarian does not personally provide 24-hour emergency care, the requirement for providing such emergency services is satisfied by providing the phone number and contact information for the nearest 24-hour veterinary emergency clinic. That must be done by the phone answering machine having that information for after-hours calls, as well as by posting that contact information at the clinic in a way that it can be read by anyone from the outside while the clinic is closed. If the nearest 24-hour clinic is one hour away, that is the nearest clinic.
QUESTION: In the past I reached out concerning the role
a veterinary technician or veterinary assistant plays regarding performing dental procedures. We are hoping to understand, specifically regarding dental extractions, what the staff may perform under the supervision of the attending DVM. The guidelines are fuzzy, and we are hoping to clearly understand what their boundaries are.
