Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners
Agenda for December 7th, 2023
Meet by Google Meets at 10:30 AM
Joint Meeting Agenda
Board Members: Dr. Elizabeth Callahan, President; Dr. Christine Calvert Vice President; Dr. Heidi
Schmechel, Ms. Lynne Chaput, Ms. Patricia Quimby, Dr. Peter Radue and Dr. James Reed.
Guests: Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, Maryland State Director, HSUS; Lisa Radov, President and Chair of
the Board, Maryland Votes for Animals
Open Meeting Agenda
Dr. Callahan called the meeting to order at 10:34 a.m..
HSUS and Maryland Votes for Animals Legislative Update - Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, Lisa
Radov
Presented on the legislative process and initiatives for HSUS, including 2 bills that may
impact veterinarians (Bill to increase the Spay and Neuter Prorgam’s Fees and a bill regarding
Student Loan forgiveness for Shelter Veterinarians).
Approval of the Minutes of the October 26th, 2023 Board Meeting.
In a motion by Dr. Schmechel, and seconded by Dr. Reed, the Board voted unanimously to approve
the minutes of the October 26th, 2023 Board Meeting.
Veterinary License Applications Approvals:
For the following application, the Board is requesting an virtual appearance to discuss that
application and the disciplinary history in Pennsylvania:
• Veterinarians for Board Review (1):
o Dr. Gerald Tishman
▪ Would like to ask some questions and appear virtually before a license is
issued.
▪ Will you be responsible veterinarian at a hospital in Maryland?
In a motion by Dr. Callahan, and seconded by Dr. Schmechel, the Board voted unanimously to ratify
the licenses for applications approved by designated authority:
• Veterinarians approved by Designated Authority (28):
o S. Hennen
o C. Neilson
o B. Ceritto
o L. Anderson
o M. Tabisz
o K. Keifer
o C. Michael
o M. Cumming
o B. Beale
o J. Dolan
o E. Ramos
o S. Abraham
o D. Holness
o C. Hall
o B. Rodgers
o S. O’Donnell
o S. Towel
o P. Christpherson
o B. Hardin
o K. Jones
o G. Culp
o R. Cornelius
o C. Klippen
o J. Schoenberger
o K. Collins
o P. Worden
o J. Bearss
o D. Seery
• Veterinary Technicians Approved by Designated Authority (6):
o J. Beightol
o C. Benesole
o S. Park
o O. Carroll
o M. Mades
o S. London
License Verification Requests Processed:
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
YTD
Veterinarian
18
24
26
27
31
7*
133
RVT
3
3
1
1
2
0*
10
*Month incomplete; not final numbers.
Sanitation Reports:
Inspectors Ellen James and Pegeen Morgan presented the Sanitation Inspection Reports.
In a motion by Dr. Reed, and seconded by Dr. Calvert, the Board voted unanimously to accept the
Sanitation Inspection Reports.
CE Approval Requests:
In a motion by Dr. Callahan, and seconded by Dr. Calvert, the Board voted unanimously to approve
the use of the following Continuing Education Credits for use during registrations renewals:
Reques
t #
Requeste
r
CE Title
Sponsoring
Organization
#
of
CE
s
Clinica
l /
Non-
Clinica
l
CDS
Reques
t
Approva
l
CDS
Approva
l
738
Alexandr
a Brake
Continuing
Education
Day for
Veterinary
Technician
s
VA-MD
College of
Veterinary
Medicine/
Marion
duPont Scott
Equine
Medical
Center
6
Clinica
l
No
Yes
N/A
740
Stephani
e Murphy
Foraging
Device
Preference
s in
Common
Marmosets
(Callithrix
jacchus)
and
Enrichmen
t for Staff
National
Primate
Research
Centers
Consortium -
Environmenta
l Enrichment
Exchange
Webinar-
Series
1
Clinica
l
No
Yes
N/A
Miscellaneous:
• Questions Regarding Prescriptions
o Can a vet charge to provide a written prescription?
▪ The Vet Board does not have regulations prohibiting this.
o Can a vet charge to verify an online prescription?
▪ The Vet Board does not have regulations prohibiting this.
o Can a vet refuse to verify online prescriptions (chewy etc.)?
▪ Some are refusing to take prescriptions unless they come directly from the
veterinary office.
▪ Board Response: A veterinarian must provide a written prescription if
requested and may charge for that. We do not have a regulation that
requires veterinarians to verify online prescriptions and these policies may
vary internally with practices.
• Inquiry regarding compounding pharmacy changes. - Frederick Cat Vet.
o Board Response: We are not the appropriate authority to answer this question.
Please reach out to the Pharmacy Board, Maryland CDS permitting authority, and
the DEA to inquire about the rules.
• Inquiry regarding Fire Alarm Requirements - Dr. Peter Radue
o Would a google nest count as a monitored fire alarm as it alerts a cell phone?
▪ Could potentially be used but would need to be monitored by a centrally
monitored provider. Alerting the owner's cell phone is not enough.
• Inquiry Stem Cell Therapy - Dr. Mark Schrenzel
o Clients must have informed consent. Information should be given to the client
regarding the experimental and unknown efficacy of the treatments and any known
adverse effect. Must follow all other state and federal laws. We do not have any
regulations specifically regarding the use.
• Proposed meeting dates for 2024
o January 25th, 2024 Virtual (B First)
o February 22nd, 2024 In-Person (A First)
o March 28th, 2024 Virtual (B First)
o April 25th, 2024 Virtual (A First)
o May 23rd, 2024 In-Person (B First)
o June 27th, 2024 Virtual Limited meeting
o July 25th, 2024 In Person(A First)
o August 22nd, 2024 Virtual (B First)
o September 26th, 2024 Virtual (A First)
o October 24th, 2024 In-Person (B First)
o November 21st, 2024 Limited Virtual
o December 5th, 2024 Virtual (A First)
• Inquiry from Dogs and Cats Emergency - Caitlin Davis
o Can an external prescription to outside pharmacies be done digitally, printed out
and signed by the veterinarian or must they be done on the blue prescription pads
and documented in the medical record via the prescription label and placed on the
RX sheet for the doctor to sign? Are the blue Rx pads required due to being tamper
proof? They would like to use the EzyVet software.
▪ Only ones that would be required would be the controlled substances. There
are official ones that can be used in a printer for even the controlled
substances.
• Inquiry from HomeVets regarding training clients to administer certain injections
and not requiring a home visit (Librela, Solensia, etc.)- Dr. Brittany Wolfe
o We would like to know if we could teach clients how to properly administer the
injection, discuss the risks, and have them sign a legal document releasing us from
any liability. Attached is a draft waiver we are considering. If you think this would
be permissible, we would have an official waiver written by a lawyer for clients to
sign. These would be on a case-by-case basis only deemed allowable by one of our
veterinarians.
▪ Shouldn’t allow clients to do themselves. Mono-clonal antibodies could have
human health concerns if accidentally injecting themselves. This is not
recommended from the drug companies and would put you at significant
legal action even with a disclosure.
• Inquiry from Happy Tails Vet Hospital - Sam, Practice Manager
o Does a full exam need to be done by the veterinarian before administering a rabies
vaccine or is their annual VCPR with another veterinarian at the hospital sufficient?
▪ Doing a TPR at a minimum would be recommended and then administering
it would be sufficient. Vet would still be accountable if there was an issue
and should be comfortable with the status of the animal. This is a matter of
veterinary discretion, our regulations don’t require it but you recommend at
least a TPR is performed. In the end it would
• Regulation Strategic Goals
o What regulations should we focus on for 2024?
▪ RVT Responsibilities? (Start after legislative session)
▪ Tele-Health? (Start after legislative session)
▪ Limited Use Hospital Regulations? (Start Now)
▪ Record Keeping (Start Now)
• Update on Drip.vet Record Keeping CE Offerings
o Drip.vet now offers two record keeping courses, including a general course and one
intended for veterinarians who have been ordered by their State Board to complete
record keeping CE.
• Johnson McKee Animal Hospital submitted several questions due to losing the only
veterinary left on staff:
o The Board provided guidance on how to proceed with various hospital functions
including prescriptions and disposal of controlled substances.
▪ Can do the Boarding, Anal Gland Expression, Nail trims can be done as long
as it is explicitly consented to in writing that this is not as a veterinary
hospital.
▪ Can not dispense any medications without a responsible veterinarian for the
hospital license to be valid, and a veterinarian to review the prescriptions.
Base your operational hours off of the availability of the responsible
veterinarian.
Public Disciplinary Actions Closed Since October 26th, 2023
• Docket No. 23-01: Melissa Browne-Fitzherbert / Dr. Janice Griffin, Valley Veterinary
Hospital
o Professional Judgment
• Docket No. 23-67: Sophia Castro / Dr. Matthew Felrice, Bennett Creek Animal Hospital
(Atty: Damiano)
o Record Keeping
• Docket No. 23-120A: SBVME / Dr. Ira Luskin, NVA Animal Dental Center LLC (Towson)
o Operating Hospital without Valid License (change of location)
• Docket No. 24-09: SBVME / Dr. Lisa Hoffman, Hoffman Animal Hospital
o Expired Medications
• Docket No. 24-11: SBVME / Dr. Hugh Kellog, McClellan Veterinary Clinic
o Expired Medications
In a motion by Dr. Calvert , and seconded by Ms. Chaput, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn the
meeting to move into an administrative closed session to perform administrative functions outside the
scope of the Open Meetings Act, in accordance with § 3-103(a)(1)(i) of the General Provisions
Article. The administrative functions to be performed include discussion of the specific matters
identified on the Board Agenda. In the alternative, I move to close the meeting pursuant to the
following Section 3-305(b):
(7) To obtain advice of counsel;
(8) To consult with staff, consultants, or other individuals about pending or potential
litigation;
(12) To conduct or discuss an investigative proceeding on actual or possible criminal conduct;”
and
(13) To comply with a specific constitutional, statutory, or judicially imposed requirement that
prevents public disclosures about a particular proceeding or matter.
