ATLANTA — A new law that regulates veterinarian telehealth is impacting poison control call center dispatchers.
SB 105 went into effect in July. Now, only vets and vet techs licensed in Georgia can give you pet advice. Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte sponsored the bill before it became law.
“The bill protects pets, pet owners, and all Georgians by making sure that dangerous drugs don’t fall into the wrong hands and prescriptions are written only by licensed Georgian veterinarians that have an established vet-client-patient relationship,” said Sen. Anavitarte.
He said poison control dispatchers can still give a caller advice as long as that dispatcher works under someone licensed to practice in Georgia.
Director of Georgia Poison Center, Dr. Gaylord Lopez, explained, vets sometimes need poison control information to treat animals.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
“There was a time when we did have veterinary guidance,” said Dr. Lopez. “We were one of the rare poison centers that aggressively took on those calls.”
He said the state agency stopped doing that in 2023 because of budget constraints.
“We kept on asking for increases over the past handful of years, and we got nothing,” said Dr. Lopez.
Since then, Georgia Poison Center dispatchers direct pet owners to call an animal poison control hotline. The two agencies that provide that service in the U.S. are located outside Georgia, and they charge callers for service.
A Midtown Atlanta woman found out during her pet’s emergency.
“We called poison control who informed us it was an $89 fee to take all the information and assign us a case number,” Lori Woroschuk told Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco.
She paid up and found out that the dispatcher still would not give her the advice due to the new law. The dispatcher gave her a case number, said her vet would have to call back with that case number to get advice, and relay it to her.
“It is definitely adding a middleman,” said Dr. Lopez. Some pet owners said that can waste important time.
“That could be really critical time for a pet that has ingested something that is very dangerous,” said Woroschuk.
TRENDING STORIES:
- ATV driver shot truck driver mudding near Haralson County home, tried to hide vehicle, officials say
- Tyrese Gibson’s dogs killed neighbor’s dog in Atlanta, police say
- Family of off-duty Gwinnett County deputy killed in shooting has dealt with tragedy before
A sponsor of the bill, Senator Jason Anqvitarte of Dallas issued the following statement:
“The law does not add additional layers of middlemen. Large corporations and private equity groups are muddying the water on what this bill does as they look to draw huge profits from the veterinary industry by removing veterinarians from your local communities and replacing them with someone in a call center in California, New York, or who knows where else.
The bill protects pets, pet owners, and all Georgians by making sure that dangerous drugs don’t fall into the wrong hands and prescriptions are written only by licensed Georgian veterinarians that have an established vet-client-patient relationship (VCPR) and know the animals that they are prescribing medicines for.
Emergency advice is still able to be offered by out of state vets through advice, and Tele triage provided they have a valid license to practice veterinary medicine in Georgia.
A dispatcher does not have to be a licensed Georgian veterinarian or vet tech to provide advice or triage. However, someone on staff that the dispatcher works under must be licensed in Georgia to ensure that they understand the rules established by the Georgia vet board and to also have someone accountable should they cause harm."
Woroschuk said know your resources. Once her dog’s emergency was over, she found out the microchip company she uses provides poison control advice for free.
To read the text of the new law, click here.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
