Microchips are great for helping lost pets find their way home. But microchipping and ownership ethics present dilemmas to veterinary teams. Honoring the veterinarian-client confidential relationship trumps the chip record. This article discusses ethics, current laws or the lack thereof, and possible court cases.
Source: Veterinary Team Brief, September 2016.
No matter the scenario, veterinary professionals are bound by the same ethical and regulatory considerations—no information within the veterinarian–client–patient relationship can be divulged, other than under the few exceptions listed. Until laws are enacted in each state to define what constitutes pet ownership, this will continue to be an uncomfortable collision of regulatory, legal, and ethical considerations.
INSIGHTS: Here are the team take-a-ways from the article:
- Veterinarians: Micro-chipping is a murky area for veterinarians who cannot establish legal ownership of a patient. However, to help clear the haze, abide by the AVMA principles of ethics — honesty with the client, respect for the law and respect for the client’s privacy.
- Management Team: Be sure the practice Standard Operating Procedures include a policy about microchipped animals and all team members know the rules of confidentiality and its few exceptions.
- Nursing Team: Veterinary nurses and other team members have access to patient medical records, so be aware that disclosure of information in a medical record exposes the veterinarian to regulatory action.
- Client Care Team: When a client brings in an animal he has found that is microchipped, never call the registrant unless the client has given his permission to do so.