Code of Ethics for Veterinarians

Code of Ethics for Veterinarians

CODE OF ETHICS FOR VETERINARIANS

The honour and dignity of the veterinary profession lie in the observance of a just and reasonable Code of Ethics set forth as a guide to veterinarians. The purpose of the Code is to assure the community the best service of which veterinarians are capable and to promote co-operation within the ranks of the profession. In addition, exemplary professional conduct not only upholds honour and dignity, but also enlarges our sphere of usefulness, exalts our social standards and promotes the science we cultivate.

Fundamentally, there are four (4) guiding principles for the veterinarians:

(a) To pursue the work of his profession with uprightness of conduct.

(b) To serve the community to the utmost of his ability.

(c) To constantly endeavour to ensure the welfare of animals committed to his care.

(d) To seek no personal advantage at the expense of his professional colleagues.

It is not possible to cover the entire field of veterinary medical ethics in this Code. Professional life is too complex to classify one's duties and obligations to his clients, colleagues and fellow citizens into a set of rules. However, it is the solemn duty of all veterinarians to deport themselves in accordance with the spirit of this Code.

1A veterinarian should conduct himself in relation to the public, his colleagues and their patients, and the allied professions, so as to merit their full confidence and respect.

1.1 Conduct characterising the personal behaviour of a professional is expected of all veterinarians.

No member shall belittle or injure the professional standing of another member of the profession or unnecessarily condemn the character of his professional acts.

1.2 Veterinarians shall avoid the impropriety of employing methods to attract public attention or boast of possessing superior knowledge or skill in the treatment or prevention of any disease.

1.3 It is unethical to guarantee a cure.

2 A veterinarian may choose whom he will serve. Once he has undertaken care of a patient he must not neglect it. However, in an emergency he should render service to the best of his ability. He shall not solicit clients.

2.1 Advertising

The necessity and right of the individual to bring before the public notice of the fact that veterinary services are available from the veterinarian at a given place and the scope of these services are recognised. The guiding principle of advertising by a member of the profession is that such advertising shall not be detrimental to his colleagues, nor of such a nature as to lower the status of the profession in the eyes of the public. However, a veterinarian may inform his/her clients of the facilities available within his/her practice.

Objectionable Advertising consists of :

2.1.1 Advertising personal superiority over one's colleagues.

2.1.2 Advertising secret remedies or exclusive methods.

2.1.3 Advertising case reports, allegedly unintentional.

2.1.4 Advertising hospital and office equipment and the special service rendered therewith.

2.1.5 Advertising the building or occupation of a new hospital as an unsolicited news item of the local press may be considered unavoidable and unobjectionable. Solicited and repeated publicity of this class is, however, frowned upon.

2.2 Newspapers

2.2.1 An advertisement may be inserted limited to the announcement of the commencement, discontinuance, resumption, removal, sale or purchase of a practice, as the case may be. The wordings of the advertisement shall be limited to the names, degrees and address of the veterinarian, the title of "veterinary surgeon" or any like title to indicate the type of practice conducted, his hours of consultation and telephone number. Any such advertisement shall not appear more than once in any one issue of a newspaper or journal and shall be limited to two issues of the newspaper or journal.

2.2.2 Articles on professional subjects may be published in the Press, signed only with the name, title and degree of the veterinarian, provided they contain no advertising matter which would be to the advantage of the author. Articles published by a paper subsequent to an interview with a reporter should as far as possible be governed by the same principles as those set out regarding signed articles.

2.3 Public Lectures, Television & Radio Broadcasts

These should be subject to the same provisions as are laid down for newspaper articles, that is only the name, degree and titles should be mentioned and no advertising matter included which is to the personal advantage of the speaker.

2.4 Trade Advertisement

No veterinarian shall give any report upon any appliance or drug for any proprietor, distributor or vendor, for publication with his name attached.

2.5 Name Plates and Professional Signs.

Display signs of reasonable size and dimensions on veterinary clinics or hospitals are not regarded as objectionable, provided they do not announce special services.

Display signs should be conservative and in keeping with the surrounding so as to enhance the appearance.

2.6 Directory Listings

A veterinarian may list his name, degree, title together with the address of his residence or his premises at which he is in daily or periodic attendance in the official telephone directory in ordinary type and setting.

In principle, this ruling is intended to make the listing of names in such a way as to give all of them identical visual prominence.

2.7 Professional Stationery

The letterhead of a professional man should be modest, announcing only name, title, address, telephone number and office hours.

In view of the degree of specialisation in veterinary practice in recent years, a veterinarian may announce on his cards and letterheads that his practice is limited to treatment of diseases of small animals, poultry, pigs or large animals.

2.8 Emergency Service

When called in an emergency as a substitute for a fellow practitioner in his absence, it is the veterinarian's duty to render the necessary service and then turn the patient over to his colleague upon his return.

3 A veterinarian should strive continually to improve veterinary knowledge and skill, making available to his colleagues the benefit of his professional attainments and seeking through consultation, assistance of others when it appears that the quality of service may be enhanced thereby.

3.1 Consultation and Referrals

When a second opinion is discussed by a practitioner or his client it is the duty of the practitioner, with the client's consent, to arrange for consultation with, or referral to, an appropriate colleague.

3.1.1 Definitions

Consultation - A deliberation between two or more veterinarians concerning the diagnosis of a patient’s disease and the management of the case. Transfer of responsibility does not occur.

3.1.2 Referral Procedure:

Communication between veterinarians should be by letter, telephone, or direct contact. The most appropriate method of communication should be determined by the parties involved. By whatever means of communication, the attending veterinarian should make it clear that he is requesting referral, not consultation.

The attending veterinarian should provide the receiving veterinarian with all the appropriate information pertinent to the case. The receiving veterinarian should have such information by the time the patient arrives.

When the receiving veterinarian has examined the patient and made definite findings, he should promptly report his findings to the attending veterinarian.

Immediately upon discharging the patient, the receiving veterinarian should send the attending veterinarian a detailed report (preferably written) and advise him as to continuing care of the patient.

The receiving veterinarian should inform the client that he will not treat the patient for any ailment other than that involved in the referral, except in emergencies or upon consultation with the veterinarian who referred the patient.

Each veterinarian involved will collect his own fee from the client.

It is unethical for a veterinarian to accept or pay a fee in connection with referrals.

3.1.3 Consultation Procedure:

If possible, a consultant should examine the patient in the presence of the practitioner and if he disagrees with the diagnosis or treatment he should confer with the practitioner privately. Any statement, which the consultant may make to a client, should be made in the practitioner’s hearing, if present. Consultants must be especially careful to avoid discrediting a practitioner in the eyes of his client. Consultants should not revisit the client or communicate directly with him without the knowledge of the practitioner. In no instance shall a consultant take charge of a case without the consent of all concerned, nor should he receive or give any commission or arrange for any sharing of fees with the member by whom he was called in consultation. His account should be rendered to the practitioner and not to the client.

Consultation should be conducted in such a spirit of professional co-operation between consultant and attending veterinarian as to assure the client’s confidence in veterinary medicine.

4A veterinarian should not employ his professional knowledge and attainments nor dispose of his services under terms and conditions which tend to interfere with the free exercise of his judgement and skill or tend to cause a deterioration of the quality of veterinary service.

4.1 Alliance with Unqualified persons

No veterinarian should aid or countenance veterinary practice by an unregistered person or allow his name or qualifications to be used for such purposes.

He should not meet an unqualified person in consultation nor permit any unqualified employee to diagnose disease or give any medical or surgical treatment except under his direction. An unqualified assistant should be under the personal supervision of the veterinarian and may not make visits, attend or treat cases requiring professional discretion or skill.

4.2 Commercial enterprises

A veterinarian who engages in a commercial enterprise that directly concerns or indirectly concerns animal health and production must conduct the business in such a manner that veterinary ethical standards are maintained. Sale of animal remedies from professional rooms shall not be conducted in any way that may lower the status of the profession. No advertising used in the conduct of the trading business shall in any way be associated with the veterinary practice or be designed to attract clients to the veterinary practice.

(a)A veterinarian who is in practice or his lay assistant may sell drugs or animal remedies of recognised value or instruments or medicated food from the veterinarian's professional rooms providing that:

i)The veterinarian has attended the animal or animals in question; or

ii)The owner of the animal or animals is a bona fide client in the sense that the veterinarian has visited the property or has examined animals from that property; or

iii)The veterinarian has discussed the case with owner and having regard to all known circumstances, is reasonably satisfied that the product or products supplied will be used correctly and are well suited for the purpose.

iv)The products sold are not displayed in the professional rooms or advertised in anyway by the veterinarian.

(b) A veterinarian who is in practice may own and manage a trading business for the retail sale of drugs or animal remedies of recognised value and of disclosed contents or instruments or medicated food providing that:

i)Any consulting room surgery, laboratory, diagnostic facilities or dispensary associated with the practice must be part of the processional rooms and should be physically distinct from the premises used for the trading business.

ii)Drugs restricted for use by veterinary surgeons or legally available only on prescription shall not be sold from the trading business.

iii)Except as required by law, the name of the veterinarian or the name under which the practice is conducted, and the title, degrees or address of the veterinarian or any indication of same, shall not be displayed in or on the trading premises, nor be mentioned in any advertising of the trading premises.

Any vehicle displaying an advertisement associated with the business shall be regarded as part of the trading premises and shall not be used in connection with the veterinarian's practice.

5Ownership and control of veterinary practices by lay persons

It is undesirable, both from a professional and public point of view, that any veterinarian in the conduct of a private practice should be subject to the direction or control of a lay person or persons.

6Veterinarians should observe all laws, uphold the honour and dignity of the profession, and accept its self-imposed discipline. The veterinary profession should safeguard the public and itself against veterinarians deficient in moral character or professional competence.

6.1 The issuing of false certificates of health on official documents and careless compliance with official regulations that the veterinarian is entrusted to endorse is deemed a violation of professional honestly.

6.2 It is unprofessional to aid in illegal practices of others.

6.3 It is the duty of veterinarians to report illegal practices to the proper authorities.

7The responsibility of the veterinary profession extends not only to the patient but also to society.

7.1 The veterinarian should first of all be a good citizen and leader in movements to advance community welfare. He should commit no act that will reflect unfavourably upon the worthiness of the profession.

7.2 All opinions on veterinary subjects which are communicated to the lay public through any medium, whether it be a public meeting, the press, radio or television should be presented as from the veterinary profession and not as from an individual veterinarian. Such opinions should represent what is generally accepted opinion of the veterinary profession and should be presented as such.

7.3 Veterinarians taking charge of columns in which answers to correspondences on veterinary questions are printed in newspapers and magazines for the public are apt to cause serious ethical repercussions. Authors should avoid controversial subjects.

END

May 19951