Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0647 Compare Versions

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55 2025 -- S 0647
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99 S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
1010 IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1111 JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
1212 ____________
1313
1414 A N A C T
1515 RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE
1616 Introduced By: Senators Murray, Sosnowski, Britto, Gu, DiMario, Kallman, Urso, and
1717 Lauria
1818 Date Introduced: March 07, 2025
1919 Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture
2020
2121
2222 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
2323 SECTION 1. Section 5-25-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-25 entitled "Veterinary 1
2424 Practice" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
2525 5-25-2. Definitions. 3
2626 As used in this chapter: 4
2727 (1) “Animal” means any animal other than humans and includes, by way of illustration, 5
2828 not limitation, fowl, birds, fish, livestock, and reptiles, wild or domestic, living or dead. 6
2929 (2) “Department” means the Rhode Island department of health. 7
3030 (3) “Director” means the director of the Rhode Island department of health. 8
3131 (4) “Division” means the division of professional regulation within the department of 9
3232 health established in chapter 26 of this title. 10
3333 (5) “Veterinarian” means a person who practices is licensed to practice veterinary medicine 11
3434 in the State of Rhode Island. 12
3535 (6) “Veterinarian/client/patient relationship” means a relationship where all of the 13
3636 following conditions have been met: 14
3737 (i) The veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making medical judgments 15
3838 regarding the health of the animal or animals and the need for medical treatment, and the client has 16
3939 agreed to follow the instructions of the veterinarian; 17
4040 (ii) The veterinarian has sufficient knowledge of the animal or animals to initiate at least a 18
4141 general or preliminary (e.g. tentative) diagnosis of the medical condition of the animal or animals. 19
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4545 This means that the veterinarian has recently seen and is personally acquainted with the keeping 1
4646 and care of the animal or animals, and/or by medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises 2
4747 where the animal or animals are kept, or obtained current knowledge of the animal through 3
4848 electronic means, including via audio-only telephone or a video-based communication medium, 4
4949 subject to the limitations and requirements of § 5-25-18; 5
5050 (iii) The veterinarian is readily available for follow-up in cases of adverse reactions or 6
5151 failure of the regimen of therapy; and 7
5252 (iv) The veterinarian maintains records that document patient visits, diagnosis, treatment, 8
5353 and other relevant information. 9
5454 (7) “Veterinary dentistry” means that part of veterinary science that deals with the 10
5555 prevention and treatment of diseases, developmental conditions, and injuries of the teeth, gums, 11
5656 and oral cavity in animals. 12
5757 SECTION 2. Chapter 5-25 of the General Laws entitled "Veterinary Practice" is hereby 13
5858 amended by adding thereto the following section: 14
5959 5-25-18. Veterinary telemedicine client patient relationship. 15
6060 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulation or rule to the contrary, a 16
6161 veterinarian may establish a client-patient relationship in Rhode Island through electronic means, 17
6262 subject to the limitations and requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this section. 18
6363 (b) Before establishing a veterinarian client-patient relationship through electronic means, 19
6464 a veterinarian shall: 20
6565 (1) Be licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Rhode Island pursuant to this 21
6666 chapter; 22
6767 (2) Establish a veterinarian client-patient relationship in person; 23
6868 (3) Obtain from the client verbal consent to establish the veterinarian client-patient 24
6969 relationship through electronic means, including an acknowledgement that the same standards of 25
7070 care under state law and regulations apply to telehealth and in-person visits; and 26
7171 (4) Maintain such documentation for at least one year. 27
7272 (c) A veterinarian shall make a good faith effort to determine whether care service should 28
7373 be provided through telemedicine instead of in-person. The veterinarian shall use clinical judgment 29
7474 in considering whether the nature of the services necessitates physical interventions and close 30
7575 observation and the circumstances of the patient, including diagnosis, symptoms, history, and age. 31
7676 (d) Veterinarians may prescribe after establishing a virtual veterinary client-patient 32
7777 relationship under the following conditions: 33
7878 (1) Prescriptions based on a virtual veterinary client-patient relationship shall be issued 34
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8282 initially for no more than thirty (30) days and shall not be renewed for more than thirty (30) days 1
8383 without an additional virtual or in-person examination. 2
8484 (2) A prescription renewed once and based upon only virtual examinations shall not be 3
8585 renewed again without an in-person examination. 4
8686 (d) Services provided through veterinary telemedicine are subject to this state's laws and 5
8787 regulations governing the veterinary provider's scope of practice. 6
8888 SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 7
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9595 EXPLANATION
9696 BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
9797 OF
9898 A N A C T
9999 RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE
100100 ***
101101 This act would authorize a veterinarian to establish a client-patient relationship in Rhode 1
102102 Island through electronic means, subject to certain limitations and requirements such as by first 2
103103 establishing a veterinarian client-patient relationship in-person and making a good faith effort to 3
104104 determine whether care should be provided through telemedicine instead of in-person. The act 4
105105 would also provide that the veterinarian shall be licensed in Rhode Island, obtain client consent to 5
106106 establish the veterinarian client-patient relationship through electronic means, and maintain such 6
107107 documentation for at least one year. 7
108108 This act would take effect upon passage. 8
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