Pennsylvania Vet New-Hire Compliance Forms

Safety-plan acknowledgments

Pennsylvania does not operate an OSHA-approved State Plan. Federal OSHA applies directly to private-sector veterinary employers in Pennsylvania, so the federal baseline in this plan is the operative workplace-safety standard; there is no Pennsylvania OSHA overlay for private employers. ¹

Controlled-substance access and records

No separate Pennsylvania controlled-substance registration for ordinary licensed veterinary practitioners. Pennsylvania's Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act defines "practitioner" to include a veterinarian licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to dispense, administer, distribute, or conduct research with controlled substances in professional practice. The Act's annual registration requirement is written for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, and then states that nothing in that section requires registration of a practitioner registered or licensed by the appropriate State board. A Pennsylvania veterinary practice therefore keys its ordinary controlled-substance authority to the Pennsylvania veterinary license plus the federal DEA registration, not a second Pennsylvania CS practitioner registration. ^{2 3}

Veterinary prescribing/dispensing authority: a veterinarian may prescribe, administer, or dispense a controlled substance, other drug, or device only in good faith in the course of professional practice and not for use by a human being; the veterinarian may cause a controlled substance, other drug, or device to be administered by a professional assistant under direction and supervision. ⁴

Veterinary medical records: at least 3 years from the last treatment date. Pennsylvania State Board of Veterinary Medicine rules require a separate veterinary medical record for each patient, herd, or group, as appropriate; the record must accurately, legibly, and completely reflect evaluation and treatment and identify the treating individual after each chart entry. Scope: the recordkeeping section does not apply to laboratory animal practice. For production animals, the rule substitutes Federal recordkeeping requirements (including 9 CFR) for the minimum-content list below; the section's separate-record and 3-year retention requirements state no production-animal exception. For animals other than production animals, minimum record content includes patient/client identifiers, vaccination and medical history, exam dates, diagnosis, laboratory and radiology findings, medical/surgical treatment, drugs administered/prescribed/dispensed including dosage, and anesthesia details for surgical/dental procedures. Client communication — the client's consent to or rejection of recommended diagnostic tests, treatments, and drugs — must be documented for any patient except a production animal. Records must be maintained for at least 3 years from the date the patient was last treated. ⁵

X-ray and sharps handling

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection Radiation Control Division registers facilities with x-ray units. DEP says users of radiation-producing machines are required to register with the division, indicate the number and type of units possessed, designate an individual responsible for radiation safety, and pay registration fees based on facility type and number of tubes. DEP identifies Title 25 Pa. Code Chapter 216 as the registration regulations. ⁶

Pennsylvania veterinary x-ray rules add operating controls: people not necessary for the procedure must be in a shielded area or at least 2 meters from the primary beam and tubehead; mechanical supports or restraints must be used when the technique permits; necessary people who are not behind barriers or at least 2 meters away need appropriate shielding such as lead aprons and gloves, at least 0.25 mm lead equivalent; and x-ray exposures must be authorized by a veterinarian. ⁷

Pennsylvania regulates medical and chemotherapeutic waste through DEP. DEP states that regulated medical and chemotherapeutic waste may be picked up or commercially delivered in Pennsylvania only by an infectious and chemotherapeutic waste transporter licensed by DEP. ⁸