You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

In the UK under the Medicines (Restrictions on the Administration of Veterinary Medicinal Products) Regulations 1994 a veterinarian must keep accurate records for at least 3 years.

Under the current Legislation the following must be recorded and kept for at least 3 years (6 years in the case of civil action for damages) :

• Date of veterinary examination of the animal(s)
• The name and address of the owners of the animal(s)
• The number of animals treated with the drug
• What diagnosis was made
• What product was prescribed
• What dose of drug was to be administered
• How long the drug was to be administered for 
• What withdrawal period was recommended 

Provet Comment : It is perhaps surprising to lay people that Legislation was deemed necessary  to enforce veterinarians to record this information. One would have assumed that responsible professionals would automatically keep such records for future reference, and it is almost unbelievable that the small animal sector of the profession successfully argued that they should be exempt from this Legislation when prescribing drugs for companion animals !

In addition to the veterinarians obligations to record information, under different Legislation (Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residues Limits) Regulations 1997) the farmer also has a legal obligation to record the following details as soon as possible after administration of a drug, and retain the records  for at least 3 years  :

• Date of purchase of a veterinary medicinal product
• Date of administration of a veterinary medicinal product
• Description of the veterinary medicinal product
• Amount of veterinary medicinal product purchased
• Name and address of the supplier of the veterinary medicinal product
• A record of the identity of the animal(s) to which the product was administered
• The number of animals treated

Provet comment : There is a lot of duplication of effort here and, although medicines record books are available from a variety of sources, the mechanism for actually tracing back the use of a drug in a specific animal is clumsy, involves a long paper trail and is open to human error at various stages of the process. It is surprising (and disappointing) that in the Year 2006 a satisfactory electronic recording system is not yet available that links veterinary recording systems to on-farm practice management systems.

Provet Feedback Request

Provet is involved in various projects looking at the subject of electronic recording and use of this information. If you would like to send your comments to us we will consider them in our discussions. Please send your comments to feedback@provet.co.uk 

Thank You