North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 21 - OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS › Chapter 66 - VETERINARY MEDICAL BOARD › Section .0200 - PRACTICE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE › Section 66 .0207 - MINIMUM FACILITY AND PRACTICE STANDARDS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) All
				locations where veterinary medicine is practiced shall be adequate for the
				maintenance of good hygiene at all times. All areas of the premises shall be
				maintained in a clean, odor free, and orderly condition at all times.
(b) The minimum standards for all facilities
				where veterinary medicine is practiced shall be:
(1) The facility shall provide heating,
				cooling and ventilation sufficient for the comfort and safety of the animals,
				the employees and clients.
(2) All
				rooms utilized for the practice of veterinary medicine shall have lighting
				sufficient for the tasks and activities conducted in the rooms.
(3) Hot and cold running water shall be
				provided along with toilets and lavatories for the personnel and for the
				clients.
(4) The facility shall
				have an area dedicated for storage of equipment and supplies, which area shall
				be of a size commensurate with the nature of the practice and the size of the
				facility, and which storage area shall be clean and, as required by the nature
				of the products or materials stored, shall be sanitary.
(5) The facility shall have interior and
				exterior receptacles for waste disposal which shall comply with state, county
				and municipal health laws, ordinances and regulations.
(6) The facilities shall employ a procedure
				for the prompt and sanitary disposal of dead animals which complies with all
				state, county and municipal laws, ordinances, rules and regulations. Dead
				animals held on premises shall be refrigerated.
(7) All interior spaces in the facility shall
				be clean and orderly.
(8) The
				facilities' examination rooms shall have the following:
(A) lined waste receptacles or
				chutes;
(B) a sink with disposable
				towels either in the examination room, or adjacent or reasonably convenient to
				the examination room, so as to facilitate necessary and required use of the
				sink for maintaining sanitation and hygiene in connection with examinations;
				and
(C) a table with an impervious
				surface which shall be sanitized between patients.
(9) Surgery shall be performed in a manner
				compatible with current veterinary medical practice with regard to anesthesia,
				asepsis, life support and monitoring procedures as well as recovery care. The
				minimum standards for surgery shall be:
(A)
				Surgery shall be performed in a room designated and reserved for
				surgery.
(B) The surgery room shall
				be clean, orderly and well lighted.
(C) Sterilization shall include a steam
				pressure sterilizer or autoclave equipment. Cold sterilization may be used for
				field or septic conditions.
(D)
				Instruments and equipment utilized in the surgery room shall be commensurate
				with the type of surgical service being provided.
(E) Storage in the surgery room shall be
				limited to only items and equipment normally related to surgery and surgical
				procedures.
(F) Emergency drugs
				shall be readily available to the surgery area.
(G) The operating table shall be constructed
				of a smooth and impervious material.
(H) There shall be a separate surgical
				preparation area.
(I) There shall
				be available for surgery sterilized instruments, gowns, towels, drapes, gloves,
				caps and masks.
(J) Regulated
				oxygen under positive pressure shall be available.
(10) The facilities shall have the capability
				for use of either in-house or consultant laboratory service for blood
				chemistry, cultures and antibiotic sensitivity examinations, complete blood
				counts, histopathological examinations and complete necropsies. An in-house
				laboratory facility shall meet the following minimum standards:
(A) The laboratory room shall have storage
				space sufficient for the equipment and materials necessary for the laboratory
				room;
(B) The facility shall have
				refrigeration with a capacity sufficient for drugs and medicines required to be
				refrigerated, as well as capacity for the refrigeration of dead animals held on
				the premises prior to disposal;
(C)
				All facilities shall have, as a minimum, in-house capability for the following
				tests:
(i) urine tests,
(ii) micro-hematocrit
				determination,
(iii) flotation
				tests for ova of internal parasites,
(iv) skin scrapings for external parasite
				diagnosis, and
(v) exams for
				circulating blood microfilaria or heartworm antigen assays.
(11) The minimum
				standards for drug procedures shall be:
(A)
				All controlled substances shall be stored, maintained, administered, dispensed
				and prescribed in compliance with federal and state laws, rules and
				regulations.
(B) Except for labeled
				manufactured drugs with instructions, all drugs dispensed shall be labeled
				with:
(i) name, address and telephone number
				of the facility,
(ii) name of
				client,
(iii) animal
				identification,
(iv) date
				dispensed,
(v) directions for
				use,
(vi) name and strength of the
				drug, and
(vii) name of prescribing
				veterinarian.
(C) A
				record of all drugs administered or dispensed shall be kept in the records of
				the individual animal, if the animal is a companion animal, or in the client's
				record, if the animal is an economic animal.
(12) The following minimum standards shall
				apply to recordkeeping:
(A) Every veterinarian
				shall keep written records or records stored via computer/word processing and
				easily retrievable of the animals treated. These records shall include but not
				be limited to pertinent medical data such as dates and type of vaccinations and
				all medical and surgical procedures on a daily basis, radiographs and
				laboratory data.
(B) Records shall
				be kept for a period of three years following the last office visit or
				discharge of such animal from a veterinary facility.
(C) Records shall be maintained by individual
				animal for companion pet animals examined or treated.
(D) The recordkeeping requirement shall not
				apply to the treatment of economic animals except as provided in Paragraph
				(11)(C) of this Rule.
(13) The following minimum standards shall
				apply to radiography:
(A) The facility shall
				have the capability of obtaining diagnostic quality radiographs through
				radiology equipment at the facility or through consultant services;
(B) The facility shall use and maintain
				radiology equipment in accordance with all federal and state laws, rules and
				regulations;
(C) all personnel
				using radiology equipment shall wear radiation badges.
(14) Cages, exercise areas, pens and stalls
				shall be kept in a clean and orderly condition, in a well-lighted area, and in
				good repair to prevent injury to animals and to promote physical
				comfort.
(15) All new veterinary
				facilities and all existing facilities changing ownership shall be inspected
				and approved by the Board prior to the practice of veterinary medicine within
				the facility.
(16) The Board shall
				make periodic inspections of veterinary premises. Such inspection shall
				include, but not be limited to, verification of compliance with this Rule. The
				Board shall make reinspections as necessary to ensure compliance with this
				Rule.
(17) Violation of the
				standards for all veterinary facilities covered by this Rule shall be grounds
				for disciplinary action as provided in
				G.S.
				90-186,
				90-187.8 and these
				Rules.
(18) The facility shall
				comply with all federal, state and municipal laws, rules and regulations
				regarding disposal of medical wastes.
(19) The following minimum standards shall
				apply to after hours emergency services. The veterinarian who is the owner, as
				well as the veterinarian who is in charge of the facility, shall provide after
				hours emergency service by one or more of the methods listed below in Parts
				(b)(19)(A) through (D) of this Rule. If after hours emergency services shall be
				provided other than by the veterinarian who is the owner or who is the
				veterinarian in charge of the facility, the name, address and telephone numbers
				of the provider of the after hours emergency service shall be posted
				prominently at the facility in areas where this information is likely to be
				seen by persons coming to the entrances of the facility, and the names,
				addresses and telephone numbers of the provider shall be accessible through a
				telephone answering machine or similar device.
(A) Availability by telephone, pager or
				answering machine; or
(B)
				Membership in an after hours emergency services facility or organization that
				agrees with the veterinarian to assume the responsibility for this care;
				or
(C) An agreement for this care
				with another facility located in the same general community, area or region
				served by the primary facility and which provides after hours emergency
				service; or
(D) Notification of the
				name, address and telephone numbers of an emergency veterinary service
				facility, open to the public, which provides after hours emergency service,
				located in the same general community, area or region served by the primary
				facility.
(20) All
				facilities where veterinary medicine is practiced other than facilities
				providing limited veterinary services shall maintain the minimum standards as
				required by this Rule, unless specifically exempted by statute or Board rule in
				facilities providing limited veterinary services.