AVMA seeks input on Model Veterinary Practice Act

The 2003 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Model Veterinary Practice Act (MVPA), like all previous versions, is intended to serve as a model set of guiding principles for those who are now or will be in the future preparing or revising a practice act under the codes and laws of an individual state. Commentary following each section of the MVPA, which was prepared by the AVMA Practice Act Task Force (PATF), the entity charged with revising the 1997 MVPA, also serves a similar purpose.

The first AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act was developed by the Judicial Council of the AVMA, in cooperation with Professor N. William Hines of the University of Iowa College of Law, in the early 1960s. The AVMA House of Delegates approved this first MVPA in 1964, and since then, the MVPA has been revised several times to reflect professional, technological, and societal changes. In 2000, recognizing the need for a complete review of the MVPA, the AVMA Executive Board established the PATF. The PATF consisted of two representatives from the AVMA Executive Board, one representative from the AVMA Council on Veterinary Service (the oversight entity for the existing MVPA), and one representative from the AVMA Judicial Council (the entity responsible for drafting the original MVPA). In November 2000, an additional member was added representing the Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities. Read More…