Nebraska Statutes 38-3333. Animal therapist; health care therapy;conditions; letter of referral; liability
(1) A licensed animal therapist may perform health care therapy on an animal only if:
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 38-3333
- Animal: means any animal other than man and includes birds, fish, and reptiles, wild or domestic, living or dead, except domestic poultry. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3304
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Health care therapy: means health care activities that require the exercise of judgment for which licensure is required under the Uniform Credentialing Act. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3307.01
- Licensed animal therapist: means an individual who (1) has and maintains an undisciplined license under the Uniform Credentialing Act for a health care profession other than veterinary medicine and surgery, (2) has met the standards for additional training regarding the performance of that health care profession on animals as required by rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department upon the recommendation of the board, and (3) is licensed as an animal therapist by the department. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3309.01
- Licensed veterinarian: means a person who is validly and currently licensed to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in this state. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3310
- Month: shall mean calendar month. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Veterinarian: means a person who has received a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from an accredited school of veterinary medicine or its equivalent. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3315
- Veterinarian-client-patient relationship: means that:
(1) The veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making clinical judgments regarding the health of the animal and the need for medical treatment, and the client has agreed to follow the veterinarian's instructions. See Nebraska Statutes 38-3316
(a) The health care therapy is consistent with the licensed animal therapist‘s training required for the license referred to under subdivision (1) of section 38-3332 ;
(b) The owner of the animal presents to the licensed animal therapist a prior letter of referral for health care therapy that includes a veterinary medical diagnosis and evaluation completed by a licensed veterinarian who has a veterinarian-client-patient relationship with the owner and the animal and has made the diagnosis and evaluation within ninety days immediately preceding the date of the initiation of the health care therapy; and
(c) The licensed animal therapist provides health care therapy reports at least monthly to the referring veterinarian, except that a report is not required for any month in which health care therapy was not provided.
(2) A licensed veterinarian who prepares a letter of referral for health care therapy by a licensed animal therapist shall not be liable for damages caused to the animal as a result of the health care therapy performed by the licensed animal therapist.