Did
you know that
Pennsylvania’s State Veterinary Review Board does
not require veterinarians to discuss possible side
effects of pharmaceuticals or provide information sheets regarding
these drugs?
BACKGROUND:
Certain drugs such as NSAIDs can have very serious side effects
including gastro-intestinal ulceration and death.
Most
of the serious adverse effects of these drugs could be prevented
if:
1.
Companion animals are properly screened for pre-existing conditions
which will be aggravated by the drugs.
2. Owners are given information about side effects that will
allow them to watch for signs of problems and react to them
before they become too severe.
PROBLEM:
Too many vets fail to follow label instructions
for screening animals with known risk factors for a drug, and
almost uniformly, fail to provide owners with the FDA-mandated
and drug company provided Client Information Sheet.
This
problem has become so severe that the Center for Veterinary Medicine
of the federal Food and Drug Administration has published three
articles bringing it to the attention of the veterinary community
in the past year alone.
There
are two aspects of this issue which are peculiar to the world
of veterinary medicine:
1.
Veterinarians act as pharmacists in both prescribing and distributing
drugs, and
2. Unlike humans, companion animals cannot verbally notify owners
when they are experiencing an adverse reaction. This puts a
premium on the owner being aware of potential adverse effects,
information which is communicated in product label warnings
as well as Client Information Sheets.
SOLUTION: Write your state
legislators and ask them to amend Section 31.21, Rules of Professional
Conduct for Veterinarians, Principle 8, Drugs, Chapter 31 (State
Board of Veterinary Medicine), Title 49 (Professional and Vocational
Standards) to require the following:
1. Pre-screening of companion animals prior to the administration
or prescription of any drug for which pre-screening is advised
or recommended on the product label.
2. Provide owners of companion animals copies of FDA-mandated
Client Information Sheets for all drugs for which such sheets
have been mandated.