LO
ConstraintCognitive automation2022-12-21
FDA ended its pandemic telemedicine exception in 2023, stating that the federal vet-client-patient relationship, which requires examining the animal, cannot be met solely through telemedicine
Veterinarianoccupation page →
Event date / reported
2022-12-21
Evidence stage
ConstraintFailure, rollback, regulation or cost is suppressing adoption. Can lower an assessment or widen its uncertainty.
Tasks this bears on
Examining the animal
Handling and examining an animal that cannot say where it hurts, and taking the history from an owner who may have missed things.
Still human-led✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
United States. The FDA withdrew the temporary enforcement policy it had adopted during the COVID-19 emergency. The notice states that, given the federal veterinarian-client-patient relationship definition requires animal examination and/or medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises where the animals are kept, the federal definition cannot be met solely through telemedicine. The federal definition governs extralabel drug use and veterinary feed directives; states set their own rules for other care, and some allow video.
What this means
For the drugs the federal rule covers, the examination stays physical: the pandemic exception was withdrawn, and a screen alone no longer counts. Remote tools can gather history and follow up; the look at the animal remains a visit.
What it does not yet show
It covers the federal relationship for extralabel use and feed directives only; state rules differ, and it does not measure how much care is remote.
What you can check
Open Federal Register document 2022-27673 and find "cannot be met solely through telemedicine".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. Nor did this record change a layer: all 1 linked judgement above already rested on earlier evidence. This one adds to them.
Source
U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Federal Register notice 2022-27673 withdrawing Guidance for Industry #269 (published December 21, 2022; withdrawal effective February 21, 2023) · verified 2026-09-29 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-09-29 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.