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S 3180Licensing & Accreditation

Businesses and Professions - Veterinary Practice

This bill allows veterinarians to treat animals and prescribe certain medications using video-based telemedicine instead of in-person visits.

Signed into law67 Yea0 Nay8 Not voting
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Apr 3, 2026Committee Senate Environment & Agriculture

Plain-English Summary

This bill allows veterinarians in Rhode Island to establish a relationship with a client and their animal using video-based telemedicine, rather than requiring an initial in-person visit. It sets rules for virtual care, requiring vets to be licensed in the state, obtain verbal consent, and maintain the same standard of care as in-person visits. Veterinarians can prescribe non-controlled medications for up to 30 days, with one 30-day renewal allowed before an in-person exam is required. Controlled substances cannot be prescribed virtually. Additionally, veterinary telemedicine providers must display their services and standard charges on their websites.

For younger readers

This bill changes the rules so animal doctors (veterinarians) can see and treat your pets over a video call on a computer or phone, just like FaceTime. Before this, they usually had to see the pet in person first. If your pet needs medicine, the vet can prescribe it after a video call, but only for a short time before they have to see the pet in real life. They are not allowed to give out strong, restricted medicines over a video call. The vet also has to put their prices on their website so people know the cost.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
VeterinariansPet ownersVeterinary telemedicine providersVeterinary clinicsAnimals and pets
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. Regulating the practice of veterinary medicine, including establishing requirements for telemedicine, prescriptions, and price transparency, falls well within the state's police power to regulate professions and protect public health and safety. The website disclosure requirement regulates commercial speech but is factual and uncontroversial, satisfying First Amendment standards for commercial disclosures.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases accessibility to veterinary care for low-income individuals, the elderly, or those without reliable transportation who may struggle to bring their pets to a physical clinic.
  • Mandates price transparency by requiring telemedicine providers to display standard charges on their websites, protecting consumers from hidden fees and predatory pricing.
  • Maintains strict safety regulations by prohibiting the prescription of controlled substances via telehealth, helping to prevent the abuse and diversion of dangerous drugs in the community.
  • Requires access to synchronous, audiovisual electronic means (like a smartphone or computer with broadband internet), which may exclude low-income or rural residents who lack digital access.
  • Limits telehealth prescriptions to a maximum of 60 days before requiring an in-person visit, which could burden disadvantaged pet owners who rely on telemedicine for long-term, routine medications.
  • Focuses strictly on private veterinary practice without expanding publicly funded or subsidized veterinary care options for low-income communities.
For Conservatives
  • Expands free-market opportunities for veterinary businesses, allowing them to offer new, innovative telehealth services and expand their customer base without needing physical clinic space.
  • Reduces government red tape by removing the strict mandate that a veterinarian must physically examine an animal before establishing a client-patient relationship.
  • Empowers consumers and promotes market competition by requiring providers to post their standard charges online, allowing pet owners to shop around for the best rates.
  • Imposes new government mandates on private businesses by forcing veterinarians to publish their prices and services on their websites, infringing on corporate freedom.
  • Restricts the professional freedom of veterinarians by strictly limiting how long they can prescribe non-controlled medications via telehealth before the government mandates an in-person visit.
  • Prohibits the prescribing of controlled substances through telemedicine entirely, unnecessarily limiting the ability of private practitioners to treat their patients as they see fit.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 35 additions · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Section 5-25-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-25 entitled "Veterinary Practice" is hereby amended to read as follows: 5-25-2. Definitions. As used in this chapter:

(1) “Animal” means any animal other than humans and includes, by way of illustration, not limitation, fowl, birds, fish, livestock, and reptiles, wild or domestic, living or dead.

(2) “Department” means the Rhode Island department of health.

(3) “Director” means the director of the Rhode Island department of health.

(4) “Division” means the division of professional regulation within the department of health established in chapter 26 of this title.

(5) “Veterinarian” means a person who practices is licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Rhode Island.

(6) “Veterinarian/client/patient relationship” means a relationship where all of the following conditions have been met:

(i) The veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making medical judgments regarding the health of the animal or animals and the need for medical treatment, and the client has agreed to follow the instructions of the veterinarian;

(ii) The veterinarian has sufficient knowledge of the animal or animals to initiate at least a general or preliminary (e.g. tentative) diagnosis of the medical condition of the animal or animals. This means that the veterinarian has recently seen and is personally acquainted with the keeping and care of the animal or animals, and/or by medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises where the animal or animals are kept, or obtained current knowledge of the animal through a video- based telecommunication medium, subject to the limitations and requirements of § 5-25-18;

(iii) The veterinarian is readily available for follow-up in cases of adverse reactions or failure of the regimen of therapy; and

(iv) The veterinarian maintains records that document patient visits, diagnosis, treatment, and other relevant information.

(7) “Veterinary dentistry” means that part of veterinary science that deals with the prevention and treatment of diseases, developmental conditions, and injuries of the teeth, gums, and oral cavity in animals.

SECTION 2. Chapter 5-25 of the General Laws entitled "Veterinary Practice" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 5-25-18. Veterinary telemedicine client-patient relationship.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulation or rule to the contrary, a veterinarian may establish a client-patient relationship in Rhode Island through synchronous, audiovisual electronic means, subject to the limitations and requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Before establishing a veterinarian client-patient relationship through electronic means, a veterinarian shall:

(1) Be licensed to practice veterinary medicine pursuant to this chapter;

(2) Obtain from the client verbal consent to establish the veterinarian client-patient relationship through electronic means, including an acknowledgement that the same standards of care under state law and regulations apply to telehealth and in-person visits; and

(3) Maintain such documentation for at least one year.

(c) A veterinarian shall practice in a manner consistent with the prevailing professional standard of practice for a veterinarian who provides in-person veterinary services to patients in this state and shall employ sound professional judgment to determine whether using veterinary telehealth is an appropriate method for delivering medical advice or treatment to the patient.

(d) Veterinarians may prescribe after establishing a virtual veterinary client-patient relationship under the following conditions·

(1) Prescriptions based on a virtual veterinary client-patient relationship shall be issued initially for no more than thirty (30) days and shall not be renewed for more than thirty (30) days without an additional virtual or in-person examination.

(2) A prescription renewed once and based upon only virtual examinations shall not be renewed again without an in-person examination.

(3) A veterinarian may not prescribe a controlled substance as defined in § 5-19.1-2 unless the veterinarian has conducted an in-person examination of the animal or made medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises where the animal or group of animals is kept.

(e) Services provided through veterinary telemedicine are subject to this state's laws and regulations governing the veterinary provider's scope of practice.

(f) Each telemedicine provider shall disclose to consumers a description of services and standard charges in a consumer-friendly display that is easily accessible on the provider's website.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.