# Title 87 — Veterinary Medical Examiners, Board of

## Article 87-05 — Veterinarian Disciplinary Proceedings

## Chapter 87-05-02 — Unprofessional Conduct

### § 87-05-02-01. Unprofessional conduct.

Unprofessional conduct manifestly disqualifying a licensee from practicing veterinary medicine
includes:
1. Failing to meet the minimum standards of practice.
2. Engaging in conduct likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public or demonstrating a willful or
careless disregard for the health, welfare, or safety of a patient, in which case, proof of actual
injury need not be established.
3. Claiming to have performed or charging for an act or treatment that was, in fact, not performed
or given.
4. Promoting, aiding, abetting, or permitting the practice of veterinary medicine by an unlicensed
person.
5. Prescribing or dispensing, delivering, or ordering delivered a controlled substance without first
having established a veterinarian-client-patient relationship by having personally examined the
individual animal, herd, or a representative segment or a consignment lot and determining that
treatment with the controlled substance is therapeutically indicated. Use of euthanizing drugs
in recognized animal shelters or government animal control facilities is exempt from this
requirement.
6. Willful continuation of prescribing a controlled substance to a patient when reasonably on
notice that the substance negligently or willfully has been diverted or is being diverted by the
client to human use.
7. Performing surgery to conceal genetic or congenital defects, in any species, with the
knowledge that the surgery has been requested to deceive a third party.
8. Promoting, selling, prescribing, or using a product for which the ingredient formula is unknown
to the veterinarian.
9. Failing to report to law enforcement or humane officers inhumane treatment to animals,
including staged animal fights or training events for fights, the veterinarian reasonably
believed occurred.
10. Fraudulently issuing or using a certificate of veterinary inspection, test chart, vaccination
report, or other official form used in the practice of veterinary medicine to prevent the
dissemination of animal disease, transportation of diseased animals, or the sale of inedible
products of animal origin for human consumption.
11. Willfully harassing, abusing, or intimidating a client or animal owner. Taking legal action to
collect for services rendered cannot be considered harassment.
12. Engaging in conduct which willingly and knowingly leads to the spread of contagious disease
from one herd or animal to another.

13. Advertising, stating, or implying that the veterinarian is a certified or recognized specialist in
any given field unless the veterinarian is a diplomate of a specialty board recognized by the
American veterinary medical association.
14. Failure to provide referral to a specialist when medically indicated and requested by the client.
History: Effective August 1, 2004; amended effective January 1, 2014; April 1, 2022.
General Authority: NDCC 43-29-03
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-29-14
### § 87-05-02-02. Minimum standards of practice.

Minimum standards of practice include:
1. The delivery of veterinary care must be provided in a competent and humane manner
consistent with prevailing standards of practice for the species of animal and the professed
area of expertise of the veterinarian. For a veterinarian to exercise properly the rights granted
by the veterinary license, a veterinarian-client-patient relationship must exist.
2. Medical records and radiographs are the physical property of the hospital or the proprietor of
the practice that prepared them. Records must be maintained for a minimum of three years
after the last visit. Radiographs must be maintained for a minimum of three years.
3. Medical records, or an accurate summary of them, must be released to the animal owner or
the owner's authorized agent, including the board, within a reasonable time of a request. A
reasonable charge for copying or preparation of a summary may be made, except in the case
of a board investigation, in which case no charges are authorized.
4. Contents of medical records must be kept private and not released to third parties unless
authorized by the client or required by law. Medical records may be released without consent
of the client under the following circumstances:
a. For statistical and scientific research, if the information is abstracted in a way as to
protect the identity of the patient and client;
b. To verify a rabies vaccination of an animal;
c. To investigate a threat to human or animal health;
d. For the protection of individual animal, human, or public health or welfare; or
e. If requested by another veterinarian for the purpose of continuity of care.
History: Effective August 1, 2004; amended effective April 1, 2022.
General Authority: NDCC 43-29-03
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-29-14
