(a) A veterinarian shall only practice veterinary telemedicine within the context of the veterinarian-client-patient relationship between medically necessary examinations of an animal patient or medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises where the animal patient is kept.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-2.5

  • Animal: means any animal except human beings;

    "Board" means the Hawaii board of veterinary medicine of the State;

    "Client" means the animal patient's owner, owner's agent, or other person presenting the animal patient for care. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1

  • animal patient: means any animal or group of animals receiving veterinary care from a veterinarian. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
  • Practice of veterinary medicine: includes medical, surgical, and dental care of animals. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
  • Veterinarian: means a person duly licensed in the State to engage in the practice of veterinary medicine. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
  • Veterinarian-client-patient relationship: includes the provision of on-call or cross-coverage services by a veterinarian who has been designated by a veterinarian with an existing veterinarian-client-patient relationship and has access to relevant animal patient records. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
  • Veterinary teleadvice: means the provision of health information, opinion, guidance, or recommendations that are not specific to a particular animal through the use of electronic communication, including telephone and audio-visual technology. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
  • Veterinary telemedicine: means the practice of veterinary medicine subsequent to the establishment of a veterinarian-client­patient relationship where animal patient care, treatment, and services are provided through the use of electronic communication, including telephone and audio-visual technology, consistent with the veterinarian's professional judgment. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
  • Veterinary telesupervision: means the remote supervision of a veterinary assistant, veterinary technician, or other employee of a veterinarian who administers medication or who renders auxiliary or supporting assistance under the responsible supervision of a veterinarian. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
  • Veterinary teletriage: means using electronic communication with a client, including through a poison control agency, to provide a timely assessment and decision as to whether to immediately refer an animal patient to a veterinarian for emergency or urgent care. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 471-1
(b) Only a veterinarian licensed in the State shall provide veterinary telemedicine to an animal patient located in the State.
(c) When practicing veterinary telemedicine, a veterinarian shall:

(1) Conduct all necessary animal patient evaluations consistently with currently acceptable standards of care;
(2) Take appropriate precautions to safeguard the confidentiality of a client’s or animal patient’s records;
(3) Ensure that the client is aware of the veterinarian’s identity, location, license number, and licensure status; and
(4) Maintain appropriate medical records with sufficient information for continued care that are readily available upon request by the client.
(d) Prescribing medications via veterinary telemedicine shall require a veterinarian-client-patient relationship and shall be at the professional discretion of the veterinarian. The indication, appropriateness, and safety considerations for each prescription issued in association with veterinary telemedicine services shall be evaluated by the veterinarian in accordance with all jurisdictional and federal laws and standards of care.
(e) A veterinarian may provide veterinary teleadvice or veterinary teletriage without the prior establishment of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship. An expert with a poison control agency who is not a veterinarian may provide veterinary teletriage.
(f) A veterinarian may provide veterinary telesupervision for tasks that do not require direct supervision as specified by rules adopted by the board.
(g) Veterinary telemedicine shall constitute the practice of veterinary medicine in the State when the individual practicing veterinary telemedicine or the animal patient are in the State. The board shall have jurisdiction over an individual practicing veterinary telemedicine within the State regardless of where the veterinarian’s physical offices are located.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter federal or state requirements and standards for the issuance of Certificates of Veterinary Inspection or health certificates.

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