Veterinary Industry Summary: September 1–7, 2024
Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA
September 1–7, 2024
Last week, the FDA released a statement in response to “questions from interested parties about Federal requirements related to a veterinarian’s role in dispensing prescription animal drugs and to the establishment of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) in the course of practice.”
The FDA’s Q&A-style article opened with a disclaimer: “The following Q&As only cover the veterinarian’s obligations under Federal law. Veterinarians should also consult their state licensing boards to determine if there are additional requirements at the state or local level.”
Key takeaways from the Q&A statement include:
- What is a veterinarian’s role in dispensing prescription animal drugs? — “Section 503(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) states that prescription animal drugs can only be dispensed by or on the lawful order of a licensed veterinarian in the course of their professional practice.”
- Can someone other than a licensed veterinarian dispense a prescription animal drug? — “Given current Federal law and regulations, a licensed veterinarian’s direct involvement and oversight is required.”
- Is a VCPR required when approved animal drugs are used on label? — “Federal law requires that a licensed veterinarian have an established VCPR to prescribe the extralabel use of approved animal or human drugs…”
- Can a VCPR be established through telemedicine? — “…for the purposes of a federal definition, a valid VCPR cannot be established solely through telemedicine (e.g., photos, videos, or other electronic means that do not involve examination of the animal(s) or timely visits to the premises).”
The statement follows the announcement that two veterinary-related initiatives will appear on Colorado’s ballot this November — one that would create a midlevel practitioner role called a veterinary professional associate, and one that would allow veterinarians to establish a VCPR through telemedicine.
Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker for daily stats.
| +2.4% Revenue YoY (Last Week) |
-1.8% Visits YoY (Last Week) |
Veterinary industry year-over-year revenue was 2.4% last week, a slight drop from the previous week’s 2.7%. While still in negative territory, year-over-year visits improved from -3.1% the week prior to -1.8% last week.
 -4.9%Heartworm YoY |
-4.1% Flea/Tick YoY |
 +3.8%Services YoY |
-1.4% Products YoY |
Year-over-year heartworm and flea/tick protection improved last week compared to the previous week. Heartworm protection climbed from -7.3% to -4.9% and flea/tick protection jumped from -7.6% to -4.1%. Year-over-year service revenue fell from 4.5% to 3.8%, while product revenue improved slightly to -1.4% from -2.4% the week prior.
| +3.4% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months) |
-2.5% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months) |
The rolling 14-day trendline showed revenue and visits gradually climbing over the past month.
| 5,436 Practices |
2.1M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
10.4K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
Minnesota continued to experience the highest growth in year-over-year visits last week at 0.4%, with Washington coming in second at -0.4%. Connecticut and Minnesota saw the most growth in year-over-year revenue at 6.7% and 6.6% respectively.
*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.
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