GVP-Veterinary practices shall:

• Have a documented system in place to ensure that all requests for consultations, visits, re-visits, post-mortem examinations or any other service requested are logged.
• Have a documented system in place to ensure that all telephone calls are answered.
• Have a documented system in place to ensure the continuity of services.
• Have a documented referral system in place, for cases beyond their abilities or capacity.
• Clearly display their tariffs and apply these tariffs in a consistent way.
• Issue detailed bills stating all services and products with their respective prices.
• Have written contracts with the farmers for the farms where they provide the animal health controls 1 or the veterinary herd management 2. The same condition applies to all other premises, holdings or situations where the competent authorities oblige to a written contract.
• Have a documented system to ensure that all legal requirements are met regarding animal health controls and veterinary herd management.
• Have a file for every farm under contract.
• Have a yearly planning for these farm visits.
• Have a documented system in place to ensure all relevant documentation is kept on clients and patients.
• Ensure confidentiality.
• Have documented systems in place to ensure the safekeeping of drugs.
• Have documented systems in place to ensure drugs are ordered, received, stored, administered, dispensed, prescribed and destroyed according to the relevant legislation.
• Only administer, dispense or prescribe medicines, based on a diagnosis obtained after a thorough clinical examination of the animal(s) involved.
• Have documented systems to ensure that surgery is performed with sterile equipment and according to the latest developments in veterinary science and medicine.
• Have sufficient infrastructure for the type of services offered.
• Have a documented cleaning and disinfection schedule in place incorporating all rooms of the practice, the medicines depot, the practice car(s) and the instruments.
• GVP-veterinary practices shall have documented procedures to ensure that all different types of waste are kept separate and disposed of as required 3.
• The following categories of waste shall be kept and removed separate:
• household waste
• normal glass
• paper
• small dangerous waste
• hazardous clinical waste
• non-hazardous clinical waste
• sharps
• empty medicines bottles
• medicines taken out of the depot for whatever reason
• GVP-veterinary practices shall have a list available of all hazardous and non-hazardous clinical waste substances present
• Clinical waste, sharps, empty medicines bottles and out-of-use medicines shall be kept in rigid impervious containers, shock, cut and tear-resistant, stating hazardous clinical waste. 3. All containers awaiting removal for destruction shall be stored in a room, separated from the living rooms, inaccessible for unauthorised persons 3, which shall be incorporated in the cleaning and disinfection schedule. On the door to the room shall be a sign stating "CLINICAL WASTE - NO ENTRY".
• Records of the removal shall be kept. They shall be dated, signed by the removal and/or destruction company and kept for a period of 5 years.
• Animal carcases shall be stored in a cooled environment
• Records shall be kept of the removal of all different types of waste and kept for a period of 5 years

GVP-practitioners shall:

• Be clean and hygienic.
• Always perform a thorough clinical examination on every patient. This encludes taking the history, observations, a full clinical examination and any necessary additional examinations.
• Based on these examinations come to a probable diagnosis.
• Discuss all treatment options with the client and give a reasoned prognosis.
• Be free in choice of therapy, as long as they are able to show its justification.
• Use drugs with prudence and according to all relevant legislation.
• Keep records of all examinations and treatments.
• Ensure all records comply with the requirements of this Code.
• Comply with all GVP-requirements for veterinarians.
• Be a member of the College of Veterinary Surgeons.

1 KB 27-01-1978 on the organisation of the animal health care for pigs, KB 15-02-1995 on the special measures of epidemiological control and prevention of notifiable pig diseases, KB 10-08-1998 on conditions on the animal health qualification of poultry, KB 28-02-1999 on the special measures of epidemiological control and prevention of notifiable bovine diseases.
2 KB 10-04-2000 on the requirements on the veterinary herd managemen.
3 Decreet 02-07-1981 on the prevention and the management of waste materilas (as amended by the decreet of 20-04-1994), Vlarea, and Arrete du Gouvernement Wallon 30-06-1994 on clinical waste.