§ 90-181.1. Practice facility names and levels of service. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 90‑181.1. Practice facility names and levels of service.

(a)        In order to accurately inform the public of the levels ofservice offered, a veterinary practice facility shall use in its name one ofthe descriptive terms defined in subsection (b) of this section.  The name of aveterinary practice facility shall, at all times, accurately reflect the levelof service being offered to the public.  If a veterinary facility or practiceoffers on‑call emergency service, that service must be as that term isdefined in subsection (b) of this section.

(b)        The following definitions are applicable to this section:

(1)        "Animal health center" or "animal medicalcenter" means a veterinary practice facility in which consultative,clinical, and hospital services are rendered and in which a large staff ofbasic and applied veterinary scientists perform significant research andconduct advanced professional educational programs.

(2)        "Emergency facility" means a veterinary medicalfacility whose primary function is the receiving, treatment, and monitoring ofemergency patients during its specified hours of operation.  At this veterinarypractice facility a veterinarian is in attendance at all hours of operation andsufficient staff is available to provide timely and appropriate emergencycare.  An emergency facility may be an independent veterinary medical after‑hoursfacility, an independent veterinary medical 24‑hour facility, or part ofa full‑service hospital or large teaching institution.

(3)        "Mobile facility" means a veterinary practiceconducted from a vehicle with special medical or surgical facilities or from avehicle suitable only for making house or farm calls; provided, the veterinarymedical practice shall have a permanent base of operation with a publishedaddress and telephone facilities for making appointments or responding toemergency situations.

(4)        "Office" means a veterinary practice facilitywhere a limited or consultative practice is conducted and which provides nofacilities for the housing of patients.

(5)        "On‑call emergency service" means aveterinary medical service at a practice facility, including a mobile facility,where veterinarians and staff are not on the premises during all hours ofoperation or where veterinarians leave after a patient is treated.  Aveterinarian shall be available to be reached by telephone for after‑hoursemergencies.

(6)        "Veterinary clinic" or "animal clinic"means a veterinary practice facility in which the practice conducted isessentially an out‑patient practice.

(7)        "Veterinary hospital" or "animalhospital" means a veterinary practice facility in which the practiceconducted includes the confinement as well as the treatment of patients.

(c)        If a veterinary practice facility uses as its name the nameof the veterinarian or veterinarians owning or operating the facility, the nameof the veterinary practice facility shall also include a descriptive term fromthose listed in subsection (b) of this section to disclose the level of servicebeing offered.

(d)        Those facilities existing and approved by the Board as ofDecember 31, 1993, may continue to use their approved name or designation untilthere is a partial or total change of ownership of the facility, at which timethe name of the veterinary practice facility shall be changed, as necessary, tocomply with this section. (1993, c. 500, s. 2.)