*What is VCPR and why do you need to know?

The California Veterinary Medical Board has very specific regulations regarding veterinary care in California. The VCPR – (Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship) requires a veterinarian to perform an in-person history taking and exam and medical plan within one year, for each condition treated, in order to provide care or prescribe medications for a pet.  What this means to you is that in order for us to provide care for your pet, (even telehealth) at least once a year we need to do a complete, in-person, head to tail physical exam and medical record review.  We will formulate a list of conditions at that time.   After that point, when appropriate, we may be able to offer telemedicine consults for those same conditions, but if a new condition arises, we must see your pet in-person in order to treat or prescribe for the new condition.  We know…  it’s complicated but we are happy to explain this in more detail if you would like.