This rule change is anticipated to have an effect on small business, as many veterinarian professionals practice in small businesses. However, as the rule are designed for early identification and treatment of alcohol and other drug and mental health impairments in veterinary professionals, this should have a positive impact on veterinary small businesses in assisting with professional assessment and treatment before the impairment affects the practice. In addition, this rule will also ensure that persons, subject to these rules, are on notice as to procedures, within the VEB’s jurisdiction, that will be utilized in the disciplinary process. Finally, the cost of the program will be absorbed within the current budget of the VEB and no additional fees will be assessed against credential holders to pay for the program.
VEB Contact
Questions and comments related to this this rule may be directed to:
Cheryl Daniels, Board Counsel
Veterinary Examining Board
C/o Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
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EMERGENCY RULE
Section 1. Chapter VE 11 is created to read: VETERINARY PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
VE 11.01 Authority and purpose.
VE 11.02 Definitions.
VE 11.04 Contract for VPAP.
VE 11.06 Referral to and eligibility for disciplinary VPAP.
VE 11.08 Requirements for disciplinary VPAP participation.
VE 11.10 Disciplinary VPAP participation agreement.
VE 11.12 Approval of service providers.
VE 11.14 Approval of drug testing services.
VE 11.16 Records.
VE 11.18 Reports to board.
VE 11.01 Authority and purpose. Pursuant to 89.03 (3), the board adopts these rules specifying a procedure for addressing allegations that a person licensed or certified by the board under this chapter has practiced as a veterinarian or veterinary technician while impaired by alcohol or other drugs or that his or her ability to practice is impaired by alcohol or other drugs, and for assisting a person licensed by the board under this chapter who requests to participate in the procedure or who requests assistance in obtaining mental health services. In promulgating rules under this subsection, the board shall seek to facilitate early identification of chemically dependent veterinarians or veterinary technicians and encourage their rehabilitation. The rules promulgated under this subsection may be used in conjunction with the formal disciplinary process under this chapter.
VE 11.02 Definitions. As used this chapter:
(1) “Complaint" means any written information submitted by any person to the board which requests that a disciplinary proceeding be commenced against a credential holder or which alleges facts, which if true, warrant discipline.
(2) “Credential holder" means a person holding any license, permit, certificate, or registration granted by the board.
(3) “Disciplinary VPAP” means the veterinary professional assistance program that may be utilized, as part of a stipulation by a credential holder and the board, for settling unprofessional conduct by the credential holder.
(4) “Impaired” means the inability of a veterinary professional to practice veterinary medicine or veterinary technology with reasonable skill and safety to patients by reason of illness, inebriation, excessive use of drugs, narcotics, alcohol, chemicals or other substances, or as a result of any physical or mental condition.
(5) “Impaired veterinary professional” means a credential holder, a veterinarian student studying or working in Wisconsin, or an unlicensed veterinary assistant working in Wisconsin, who voluntarily seeks assistance because of a self-identified alcohol, other drug, or mental health impairment.
(6) “Medical review officer" means a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy who is a licensed physician and who has knowledge of substance abuse disorders and has appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate an individual's confirmed positive test result together with an individual's medical history and any other relevant biomedical information.
(7) “Service”, as used in this chapter, means any VPAP-approved provider of assessment, testing, treatment, rehabilitation, monitoring, and support for alcohol, other chemical, and/or mental health impairments. The term includes any person supervising the credential holder while working as a veterinary professional.
(8) “VPAP" means any entity contracted by the board to provide the veterinary professional assistance program on behalf of the board.
VE 11.04 Contract for VPAP. (1) The board may enter into a contract with a nonprofit corporation or medical professional association to provide a veterinary professional assistance program, which may include any or all of the following:
(a)
Contracting with assessment, testing, treatment, rehabilitation, monitoring, or support services, in accordance with the requirements in VE 11.10 and VE 11.12. (b)
Receiving and evaluating reports of suspected impairment from any source. (c) Intervening in cases of verified impairment.
(d) Referring services to impaired veterinary professionals, outside the disciplinary process.
(e) Referring and monitoring services to credential holders, within the board’s disciplinary process.
(f) Providing post-treatment monitoring and support to rehabilitated impaired veterinary professionals, and credential holders in the disciplinary VPAP.
(h) Reporting statistical information regarding impaired veterinary professionals program activity to the board.
(i) Reporting all required information in the disciplinary VPAP, under contract to the board, so the board may carry out its disciplinary authority under s. VE 7.07, Wis. Adm. Code. (2) The VPAP may accept any impaired veterinary professional who voluntarily requests referral to services, if not a credential holder with an outstanding complaint against the holder in the board’s disciplinary process.
(3) Except for information produced for the board under sub. (1) (h), all information, interviews, records, reports, statements, memoranda, or other documents furnished to, or produced by the program, pursuant to sub. (2), are confidential.
VE 11.06 Referral to and eligibility for disciplinary VPAP. (1) The board and VPAP, as part of the contract, shall agree to eligibility criteria for credential holders to be accepted into the disciplinary VPAP, to fulfill the requirements in s. 89.03(3), Stats. (2) The board may stipulate with a credential holder, in the disciplinary process, to refer the credential holder to the VPAP as part of a settlement for uncontested unprofessional conduct on the part of the credential holder. The stipulation shall include language that a referral does not guarantee acceptance of the credential holder by the VPAP and the potential consequences if the credential holder is not accepted in the VPAP or does not complete the terms of acceptance. The stipulation may include other discipline to be completed by the credential holder, separate from the disciplinary VPAP.
(3) The VPAP shall supply a credential holder, who has been referred by the board, an application for participation. As part of the application, the credential holder agrees that all relevant materials from the board’s disciplinary proceedings may be released to the VPAP to make its determination as to the applicant’s acceptance.
(4) The VPAP shall determine the credential holder’s acceptance, based upon the criteria in the contract, by reviewing all relevant materials, including investigative results and the credential holder's application for participation.
(5) The VPAP shall inform the credential holder and board if the holder is ineligible for acceptance. A credential holder determined to be ineligible for the disciplinary VPAP may, within 10 days of notice of the determination, request the board to review the adverse determination.
VE 11.08 Requirements for disciplinary VPAP participation. (1) A credential holder who participates in the disciplinary VPAP shall do all of the following:
(a) Sign a participation agreement with the VPAP, a copy of which shall be provided to the board.
(b) Obtain a comprehensive assessment for alcohol, chemical, and/or mental health impairments from an approved service, including submitting to any required testing. The credential holder shall arrange for the service to file a copy of its assessment with the VPAP. The VPAP may agree to waive this requirement.
(c) Remain free of alcohol, if diagnosed as an impairment, controlled substances, and prescription drugs unless prescribed for a valid medical purpose.
(d) Timely enroll and participate in any approved service, as required by the assessment or agreed to by the credential holder and VPAP, if the assessment is waived pursuant to par. (b).
(e) Comply with any treatment recommendations, work restrictions, or conditions deemed necessary by a testing, assessment, or treatment service.
(f) Submit any required random monitored physiological specimens for the purpose of screening for alcohol or controlled substances, provided by a drug testing service.
(g) Execute releases, valid under state and federal law, to allow the VPAP access to the credential holder's counseling, treatment, and monitoring records.
(h) Have the credential holder's service and work supervisors file quarterly reports with the VPAP.
(i) Notify the VPAP of any changes in the credential holder's employer within 5 days.
(j) File quarterly reports documenting the credential holder's attendance at meetings of self-help support groups.
(2) If the VPAP determines, based on consultation with any service authorized to provide testing, treatment, or monitoring of the credential holder, that a credential holder participating in its program has failed to meet any of the requirements set under sub. (1), the VPAP shall make a written determination if it will continue to allow the credential holder to use its program and obtain a new participation agreement with any additional requirements, determined by the VPAP. The VPAP shall notify the board of the failure and the VPAP’s determination of program continuation.
(3) Upon notification of the failure and program continuation, the board shall make a review to determine whether the credential holder should be referred for further discipline. The board shall review the complete record in making this determination.
VE 11.10 Disciplinary VPAP participation agreement. (1) The credential holder’s participation agreement in the VPAP shall at a minimum include:
(a) A statement describing the credential holder’s conduct, relating to participation in the VPAP.
(b) An acknowledgement by the credential holder of the impairment needing treatment.
(c) An agreement to participate, at the credential holder's expense if necessary, in an approved treatment regimen.
(d) An agreement to submit to random monitored drug screens at the credential holder's expense, provided by a drug testing service approved by the VPAP under s. VE 11.12 , if deemed necessary by the VPAP. (e) An agreement to submit to practice restrictions at any time during the treatment regimen, as deemed necessary by the VPAP.
(f) An agreement to furnish the VPAP with signed consents for release of information, from treatment providers and employers authorizing the release of information to the VPAP and board, for the purpose of monitoring the credential holder's participation in the VPAP.
(g) An agreement to authorize the VPAP to release information described in pars. (a), (c) and (e), the fact that a credential holder has been dismissed from the VPAP pursuant to VE 11.06(2), or violated terms of the agreement in s. VE 11.06 (1) (b) to (e) and (h) concerning the credential holder's participation in the VPAP to the employer or any service identified by the credential holder, and an agreement to authorize the VPAP to release the results of random monitored drug screens, under par. (d), to any service identified by the credential holder. (h) An agreement to participate in the VPAP for a period of time, as established by the stipulation between the credential holder and board.
(2) The VPAP may include additional requirements for an individual credential holder, if the credential holder's condition warrant additional safeguards.
(3) The board or board liaison may include a promise of confidentiality that all or certain records shall remain closed and not available for public inspection and copying. Any promise is subject to s. SPS 7.08 and ends upon a referral to the division. Information and records may be made available to staff within the department on an as-needed basis, to be determined by the coordinator. VE 11.12 Approval of service providers. (1) The VPAP shall approve a service provider designated by a credential holder for the purpose of participation in the VPAP if:
(a) It is a facility where all of the following applies:
1. The facility is certified by appropriate national or state certification agencies.
2. The treatment program focus at the facility is on the individual with an impairment of the same type as has been identified in the credential holder.
3. Facility treatment plans and protocols are available to the VPAP.
4. The facility, through the credential holder's supervising therapist, agrees to file reports as required, including quarterly progress reports and immediate reports if a credential holder withdraws from therapy, relapses, or is believed to be in an unsafe condition to practice.
(b) It is an individual therapist who:
1. Has credentials and experience determined by the VPAP to be in the credential holder's area of need.
