{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-698.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 59, § 59-698.2","heading":"Definitions","body":"As used in the Oklahoma Veterinary Practice Act:\n\n1. \"Board\" means the State Board of Veterinary Medical\n\nExaminers;\n\n2. \"Animal\" means any animal other than humans and includes,\n\nbut is not limited to, fowl, fish, birds and reptiles, wild or\n\ndomestic, living or dead;\n\n3. \"Veterinarian\" means a person who has received a degree in\n\nveterinary medicine or its equivalent from a school of veterinary\n\nmedicine;\n\n4. \"Licensed veterinarian\" means any veterinarian who holds an\n\nactive license to practice veterinary medicine in this state;\n\n5. \"School of veterinary medicine\" means any veterinary college\n\nor division of a university or college that offers the degree of\n\ndoctor of veterinary medicine or its equivalent, which conforms to\n\nthe standards required for accreditation by the American Veterinary\n\nMedical Association (AVMA) and which is recognized and approved by\n\nthe Board;\n\n6. \"Veterinary technician\" means a person who has graduated\n\nfrom a program accredited by the American Veterinary Medical\n\nAssociation, or its equivalent which is recognized and approved by\n\nthe Board, and who has passed the examination requirements set forth\n\nby the Board, and is certified to practice under the direct\n\nsupervision of a licensed veterinarian. For the purpose of the\n\nOklahoma Veterinary Practice Act, \"registered veterinary technician\n\n(RVT)\" will be used interchangeably with veterinary technician who\n\nis certified pursuant to Sections 698.21 through 698.26 of this\n\ntitle;\n\n7. \"Veterinary technologist\" means a person who has\n\nsuccessfully graduated from an AVMA-accredited bachelor degree\n\nprogram of veterinary technology, or its AVMA equivalent;\n\n8. \"Veterinary assistant\" means an individual who may perform\n\nthe duties of a veterinary technician or veterinary technologist;\n\nhowever, has not graduated from an AVMA-accredited technology\n\nprogram or its equivalent, and has not been certified by the Board;\n\n9. \"Veterinary technology\" means the science and art of\n\nproviding all aspects of professional medical care, services and\n\ntreatment for animals with the exception of diagnosis, prognosis,\n\nsurgery and prescription of any treatments, drugs, medications or\n\nappliances, where a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship\n\nexists;\n\n10. \"Direct supervision\" means:\n\na. directions have been given to a veterinary technician,\n\nnurse, laboratory technician, intern, veterinary\n\nassistant or other employee for medical care following\n\nthe examination of an animal by the licensed\n\nveterinarian responsible for the professional care of\n\nthe animal, or\n\nb. that, under certain circumstances following the\n\nexamination of an animal by a licensed veterinarian\n\nresponsible for the professional care of the animal,\n\nthe presence of the licensed veterinarian on the\n\npremises in an animal hospital setting or in the same\n\ngeneral area in a range setting is required after\n\ndirections have been given to a veterinarian who has a\n\ncertificate issued pursuant to Section 698.8 of this\n\ntitle;\n\n11. \"License\" means authorization to practice veterinary\n\nmedicine granted by the Board to an individual found by the Board to\n\nmeet certain requirements pursuant to the Oklahoma Veterinary\n\nPractice Act or any other applicable statutes;\n\n12. \"Supervised Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Certificate\"\n\nmeans authorization to practice veterinary medicine with certain\n\nlimitations or restrictions on that practice, set by the Board or\n\nauthorization to perform certain enumerated functions peripheral to\n\nthe practice of veterinary medicine as set by the Board and has a\n\ncertificate issued pursuant to Section 698.8 of this title;\n\n13. \"Veterinarian-client-patient relationship\" means when:\n\na. the licensed veterinarian has assumed the\n\nresponsibility for making medical judgments regarding\n\nthe health of an animal or animals and the need for\ntion to perform certain enumerated functions peripheral to\n\nthe practice of veterinary medicine as set by the Board and has a\n\ncertificate issued pursuant to Section 698.8 of this title;\n\n13. \"Veterinarian-client-patient relationship\" means when:\n\na. the licensed veterinarian has assumed the\n\nresponsibility for making medical judgments regarding\n\nthe health of an animal or animals and the need for\n\nmedical treatment, and the client, owner or other\n\ncaretaker has agreed to follow the instructions of the\n\nlicensed veterinarian, and\n\nb. there is sufficient knowledge of the animal or animals\n\nby the licensed veterinarian to initiate at least a\n\ngeneral or preliminary diagnosis of the medical\n\ncondition of the animal or animals in that:\n\n(1) the licensed veterinarian has recently seen or is\n\npersonally acquainted with the keeping and care\n\nof the animal or animals, or\n\n(2) the licensed veterinarian has made medically\n\nnecessary and timely visits to the premises where\n\nthe animal or animals are kept or both, and\n\nc. the licensed veterinarian is readily available for\n\nfollow-up in case of adverse reactions or failure of\n\nthe regimen of therapy, or has arranged for emergency\n\nmedical coverage, and\n\nd. the licensed veterinarian's actions would conform to\n\napplicable federal law and regulations;\n\n14. \"Veterinary premises\" means any facility where the practice\n\nof veterinary medicine occurs including, but not limited to, a\n\nmobile unit, mobile clinic, outpatient clinic, satellite clinic,\n\npublic service outreach of a veterinary facility or veterinary\n\nhospital or clinic. The term \"veterinary premises\" shall not\n\ninclude the premises of a client of a licensed veterinarian or\n\nresearch facility;\n\n15. \"Veterinary prescription drugs\" means such prescription\n\nitems as are in the possession of a person regularly and lawfully\n\nengaged in the manufacture, transportation, storage or wholesale or\n\nretail distribution of veterinary drugs and the federal Food and\n\nDrug Administration-approved human drugs for animals which because\n\nof their toxicity or other potential for harmful effects, or method\n\nof use, or the collateral measures necessary for use, are labeled by\n\nthe manufacturer or distributor in compliance with federal law and\n\nregulations to be sold only to or on the prescription order or under\n\nthe supervision of a licensed veterinarian for use in the course of\n\nprofessional practice. Veterinary prescription drugs shall not\n\ninclude over-the-counter products for which adequate directions for\n\nlay use can be written;\n\n16. \"ECFVG certificate\" means a certificate issued by the\n\nAmerican Veterinary Medical Association Education Commission for\n\nForeign Veterinary Graduates, indicating that the holder has\n\ndemonstrated knowledge and skill equivalent to that possessed by a\n\ngraduate of an accredited or approved college of veterinary\n\nmedicine;\n\n17. \"Executive Director\" means the Executive Director of the\n\nState Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners or the authorized\n\nrepresentative of such official;\n\n18. \"Telemedicine\" or \"telehealth\" means the practice of\n\nveterinary medicine including diagnosis, consultation, evaluation,\n\ntreatment, transfer of medical data or exchange of information by\n\nmeans of a two-way, real-time interactive communication between a\n\nclient or patient and a veterinarian with access to and reviewing\n\nthe patient's relevant information prior to the telemedicine visit.\n\nTelemedicine or telehealth shall not include consultations provided\n\nby telephone audio-only communication. A veterinarian using\n\ntelehealth technologies shall take appropriate steps to establish\n\nthe veterinarian-client-patient relationship and conduct all\n\nappropriate evaluations and history of the patient consistent with\n\ntraditional standards of care for the particular patient\n\npresentation. A veterinarian shall be licensed, or under the\nconsultations provided\n\nby telephone audio-only communication. A veterinarian using\n\ntelehealth technologies shall take appropriate steps to establish\n\nthe veterinarian-client-patient relationship and conduct all\n\nappropriate evaluations and history of the patient consistent with\n\ntraditional standards of care for the particular patient\n\npresentation. A veterinarian shall be licensed, or under the\n\njurisdiction of, the veterinary board of the jurisdiction where the\n\npatient is located. The practice of medicine occurs where the\n\npatient is located at the time telehealth technologies are used;\n\n19. \"Person\" means any individual, firm, partnership,\n\nassociation, joint venture, cooperative, corporation or any other\n\ngroup or combination acting in concert, and whether or not acting as\n\na principal, trustee, fiduciary, receiver or as any other kind of\n\nlegal or personal representative, or as the successor in interest,\n\nassignee, agent, factor, servant, employee, director, officer,\n\nfictitious name certificate or any other representative of such\n\nperson;\n\n20. \"Food animal\" means any mammalian, poultry, fowl, fish or\n\nother animal that is raised primarily for human food consumption;\n\n21. \"Surgery\" means the branch of veterinary science conducted\n\nunder elective or emergency circumstances, which treats diseases,\n\ninjuries and deformities by manual or operative methods including,\n\nbut not limited to, cosmetic, reconstructive, ophthalmic,\n\northopedic, vascular, thoracic and obstetric procedures. The\n\nprovisions in Section 698.12 of this title shall not be construed as\n\nsurgery;\n\n22. \"Abandonment\" means to forsake entirely or to neglect or\n\nrefuse to provide or perform the legal obligations for care and\n\nsupport of an animal by its owner, or the owner's agent.\n\nAbandonment shall constitute the relinquishment of all rights and\n\nclaims by the owner to an animal;\n\n23. \"Animal chiropractic diagnosis and treatment\" means\n\ntreatment that includes vertebral subluxation complex (VSC) and\n\nspinal manipulation of nonhuman vertebrates. The term \"animal\n\nchiropractic diagnosis and treatment\" shall not be construed to\n\nallow the:\n\na. use of x-rays,\n\nb. performing of surgery,\n\nc. dispensing or administering of medications, or\n\nd. performance of traditional veterinary care;\n\n24. \"Animal euthanasia technician\" means an employee of a law\n\nenforcement agency, an animal control agency or animal shelter that\n\nis recognized and approved by the Board, who is certified by the\n\nBoard and trained to administer sodium pentobarbital to euthanize\n\ninjured, sick, homeless or unwanted domestic pets and other animals;\n\n25. \"Teeth floating\", as provided by a nonveterinary equine\n\ndental care provider, means the removal of enamel points and the\n\nsmoothing, contouring and leveling of dental arcades and incisors of\n\nequine and other farm animals. It shall not include dental\n\nprocedures on canines and felines;\n\n26. \"Nonveterinary reproductive services\" means nonveterinary\n\nservices provided by an individual certified by the Board as a\n\nnonveterinary reproductive services technician, and involves and\n\nshall be limited to nonsurgical embryo transfer in ruminating\n\nanimals including cattle, sheep, goats, farmed deer and other\n\nruminating exotic animals such as those found in zoos, and may\n\ninclude basic ultrasonography of their ovaries to evaluate the\n\nresponse to embryo-transfer-associated procedures and of the uterus\n\nto determine pregnancy by the detection of a heartbeat within the\n\ntransferred embryo at or greater than twenty-eight (28) days of\n\ngestation of such ruminating animals;\n\n27. \"Embryo transfer\" means the biosecure process of inducing\n\nincreased ovulations within a donor female for the in vivo\n\nproduction of embryos, the flushing of those embryos, collecting,\n\ngrading and transferring of those embryos to recipient females or\n\nthe cryopreservation of those embryos for storage and later transfer\nter than twenty-eight (28) days of\n\ngestation of such ruminating animals;\n\n27. \"Embryo transfer\" means the biosecure process of inducing\n\nincreased ovulations within a donor female for the in vivo\n\nproduction of embryos, the flushing of those embryos, collecting,\n\ngrading and transferring of those embryos to recipient females or\n\nthe cryopreservation of those embryos for storage and later transfer\n\nto recipient females;\n\n28. \"Animal Technology Advisory Committee\" means the advisory\n\ncommittee established by the Board pursuant to Section 698.30b of\n\nthis title to advise and make recommendations to the Board regarding\n\nany new and evolving technology, procedure, method or practice that\n\nmay be considered or otherwise designated as an act of animal\n\nhusbandry that should be included as an act not prohibited in\n\nparagraph 1 of Section 698.12 of the Oklahoma Veterinary Practice\n\nAct. Reference to the advisory committee in this act shall mean the\n\nAnimal Technology Advisory Committee;\n\n29. \"Examination Committee\" means the committee established and\n\ndescribed in subsection D of Section 698.30a of this title related\n\nto nonveterinary reproductive services; and\n\n30. \"Probable Cause Committee\" means the committee consisting\n\nof the Board's secretary or treasurer, investigator and attorney to\n\nnegotiate and settle disputes in accordance with the Oklahoma\n\nVeterinary Practice Act.","path":["OK Code","Title 59"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os59.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"090882227a4a86f57f784773aa43090ea100bd102e9720835acd8ea463dfb28d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-698.19a","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-698.21"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}