A dog receives treatment at an animal shelter in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in this file photo taken May 20, 2020. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, 3 Dec. (Korea Bizwire) — Amid a growing number of medical disputes over the treatment of pets, some Korean pet owners say issuing medical diagnostic records for pets should be mandatory.

Unlike general practitioners who are required to issue diagnostic medical records under applicable laws, veterinarians have no such obligations.

Previously, the National Assembly tried to overhaul the system by amending the Veterinarians Act, but the attempt ended in failure due to strong opposition from vets. The main reason for their strong opposition is concern over drug abuse.

If it becomes mandatory to issue medical diagnostic records that may contain detailed information about the treatment process and the types of medications used, it could encourage some pet owners to abuse medication through self-diagnosis.

The Veterinary Medical Association claimed that unlike human medications, pet medications can be purchased easily from pharmacies without a prescription.

“If diagnostic medical records are made public, some pet owners may attempt to self-medicate their animals based on previous records, which would disrupt the veterinary medical system,” an association official said. .

Veterinary pharmacists, however, have different opinions. Kim Sung-jin, vice president of the Korea Veterinary Pharmacy Association, disagrees with the position put forward by the Veterinary Medical Association.

“Even though pet owners know what drugs are being used through diagnostic medical records, many of them cannot be purchased without a prescription from a veterinarian. Therefore, the risk of drug addiction is not high.

JS Shin ([email protected])