Veterinary services-related recommendations addressed

The AVMA Executive Board approved several recommendations from the Council on Veterinary Service. The board agreed to establish a liaison relationship with the Compendium Committee on Infection Control Practices of the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. The committee will compile and publish guidelines for the prevention of disease transmission from animals to humans in private veterinary practices. The board appointed Dr. Rebecca Stinson-Dixon, a COVS member, as the liaison.

The board approved the revised AVMA Guidelines for Naming Veterinary Facilities. One of the revisions made to the guidelines was the addition of the definition of a veterinary, animal specialty, or referral facility. The COVS believes that the use of certain terms in a facility name, such as "specialty" or "referral," suggests that veterinary specialists, or board-certified veterinarians, would be tending to patients at these facilities, and so guidelines for the use of the terms were added.

The board reaffirmed several AVMA positions statements, including Surgical Procedures for Non-Veterinary Students, Embryo Transplant Procedures, Docking of Lambs' Tails, and Pre-signed Certificates of Veterinary Inspection. The council reviewed the position statements in accordance with the five-year review directive.

For a complete copy of the positions statements, along with the Guidelines for Naming Veterinary Facilities, log in here.