Part 3 of the CVBC Bylaws, Accreditation and Naming, has three “practice” types listed:  

Practice Facility means the premises, structure or vehicle in, on or from which a registrant provides veterinary services, and includes any equipment, supplies, records or documents used in that facility, but does not include a consulting practice; 

Consulting Practice means a veterinary practice in which a registrant provides veterinary services to other registrants or practice facilities, including online, and does not have its own premise, structure, vehicle or facility; 

Philanthropic Practice means the humanitarian provision of veterinary services: (a) by registrants in a benevolent manner, (b) in keeping with animal welfare concerns, (c) in communities that would otherwise not have veterinary services, and (d) at no or substantially reduced cost to the public; 

The Practice Facility Accreditation Committee (PFAC) accepts the following interpretation of Part 3 of the Bylaws as described below and that all practice types must follow the appropriate accreditation process and standards based on the declared scope of practice (SoP). 

Practice Facility: any practice that has equipment or supplies that are used directly on patients, or that has a space to which the public is invited, or drugs are ordered or dispensed.  Any of these services involve assessment of accreditation standards beyond medical records and library, relevant to their SoP.   

Consulting Practice: a practice with an extremely narrow scope of practice of Consulting Services only.  There is no equipment, supplies or space that directly interacts with patients or the client. Medical records and Library would be the Accreditation standards applicable.  At this time, these consulting services are offered to another registrant, not the public.  There may be a limited scope Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship (VCPR) if the other registrant is acting as the agent of a client regarding a specific patient (as opposed to providing general advice) 

Philanthropic Practice: a practice defined in the bylaws and for which the relevant accreditation standards apply as required by the declared SoP.  These will have the same supplies and equipment as a practice facility, but they will be used in a non-traditional location to offer services to the public.  The PFAC has the discretion to assess which standards apply and which may be met in an alternate manner in keeping with the CVBC mandate of public protection.