The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (Board) adopts amendments to §573.10, concerning Supervision of Non-Veterinarians, §573.14, concerning Alternate Therapies, §573.15, concerning Use of Ultrasound in Diagnosis, §573.29, concerning Complaint Information, §573.41, Use of Prescription Drugs, §573.44, Compounding Drugs, §573.45, Extra-Label or Off-Label Use of Drugs, §573.51, Rabies Control, §573.52, Veterinarian Patient Record Keeping, §573.53, Equine Dental Provider Patient Record Keeping, §573.65, Proof of Acceptable Continuing Education, and §573.69, Conditions Relative to License Suspension. The amendments are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the June 10, 2016, issue of the Texas Register (41 TexReg 4153) and will not be republished.

One comment was received on the adoption of rule 573.41, regarding Use of Prescription Drugs. The commenter recommends that the rule incorporate the Texas Pharmacy Act's licensure requirements and limit relationships between veterinarians and pharmacies or, in the alternative, require disclosure of any remunerative arrangements between a veterinarian and a pharmacy. The Board respectfully declines to make the amendments that the commenter suggests, as they are outside the scope of the Board's proposed amendments to the rule.

No other comments were received regarding the adoption of the amendments to the rules.

In general, the purpose of these amendments to 22 TAC Chapter 573 is to implement changes resulting from the Board's review of the chapter under Texas Government Code §2001.039. The notice of intention to review the chapter was published in the December 4, 2015, issue of the Texas Register (40 TexReg 8705). No comments were received in response to the notice. The notice of the adopted rule review was published in the March 18, 2016, issue of the Texas Register (41 TexReg 2180).

Overall, the adopted amendments make clarifications and technical corrections.

The amendment to §573.10 serves to make all items in the list parallel. The amendments to §§573.14, 573.15, and 573.41 conform the term "veterinarian-client-patient relationship" to its appearance in the Veterinary Licensing Act. The amendment to §573.29 clarifies what is required on a licensee's notice to clients about complaint information. The amendments to §573.44 and §573.45 conform the term "food-producing animals" to its appearance in the Veterinary Licensing Act. The amendment to §573.51 modernizes the language of the rule.

The amendments to §573.52 and §573.53 will reflect the original intent of the rule to require a veterinarian or an equine dental provider to maintain patient records for a minimum of five years from the date of the last treatment. The amendments to §573.65 are technical corrections as is the amendment to §573.69.

The amendments are adopted under the authority of the Veterinary Licensing Act, Texas Occupations Code, §801.151(a), which states that the Board may adopt rules necessary to administer the chapter; §801.151(b), which states that the Board may adopt rules of professional conduct appropriate to establish and maintain a high standard of integrity, skills, and practice in the veterinary medicine profession; and §801.307, which states that the Board may adopt rules relating to continuing education.