Board complaints put informed consent in the spotlight

CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: Veterinary media are putting renewed focus on board complaints, with two recent podcast episodes featuring Beth Venit, VMD, MPH, DACVPM, chief veterinary officer of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards, framing complaints as a manageable regulatory process rather than an automatic career-ending event. In dvm360’s Vet Blast episode, Venit discusses how veterinarians should approach a complaint, while Dr. Andy Roark’s The Cone of Shame episode centers on informed consent as one of the clearest ways to reduce complaint risk. That message also lands at a time when veterinary media are broadly emphasizing practice systems, leadership, and communication — including recent Vet Blast conversations on mental health, AI, and “engineering better veterinary care” — as core parts of sustainable practice, not side issues. It lines up with broader AAVSB guidance that complaints are handled by individual state boards, not AAVSB itself, and with state board materials showing that cases typically turn on jurisdiction, records, evidence review, and whether the veterinarian met the minimum standard of care, not an idealized “gold standard.” (dvm360.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the practical takeaway is that communication and documentation still do much of the defensive work. Venit’s recent commentary on informed consent notes that many client complaints originate from communication failures, and that boards generally assess whether care met the minimum standard expected of a competent veterinarian in that jurisdiction. That message fits with other recent dvm360 podcast themes: Dr. Peter Weinstein argued that veterinary medicine is a people-driven, team-based service business shaped by leadership and repeatable processes, while Dr. Mark Bezanson highlighted practical innovation and workflow-minded problem solving. Risk-management guidance from AVMA PLIT similarly emphasizes documenting client communication, reviewing consent forms carefully, and understanding that a board complaint may require a separate license-defense response. (aavsb.org)

What to watch: Expect continued education around informed consent, recordkeeping, leadership, workflow design, and state-specific complaint procedures as practices look for ways to reduce regulatory risk before a frustrated pet parent escalates a case to the board. (drandyroark.com)