| Complaint: | Complaint 21-52 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Debbie Chapman |
| Premises: | Desert Cross Veterinary Hospital |
The complainant here is Leslie Ivie, a Texas veterinarian. She was seeing a dog that had pancreatitis and treating him with some medications, including Depo-Medrol. She says the dog improved under her care but the dog's owner brought the dog back because she thought the dog wasn't doing well. Ivie referred the dog to Animal Diagnostic Clinic in Dallas for an ultrasound. The dog's owner's mother took the records to her own vet, Debbie Chapman at Desert Cross Veterinary Hospital in Arizona. Allegedly Chapman said the use of Depo-Medrol was a problem because "steroids cause pancreatitis" and implied Ivie's care was lacking. Ivie tells us she had one of her veterinary technicians call Chapman's clinic to ask why she was making comments about her patient; Chapman replied that she had just been thinking aloud and had seen the dog within the last year. Ivie apparently ensured this call was recorded on her clinic's phone software.
Chapman's response states that the person in question made an appointment with her to dog over the dog's records in a Facetime call with the dog's owner. She says that the owner was concerned because she didn't even get to speak personally with a veterinarian (because of coronavirus concerns) in Texas; it sounds as though the owner was quite scared for her dog. Chapman says that she reviewed the records, talked to her, and gave her opinion but did not criticize Ivie. An hour later Chapman is told there's a tech from Texas named Kelsey on the phone who says she won't stop calling until she gets to talk to Chapman; she then had to defend herself to Kelsey. Chapman states that all she did was give a second opinion to a mutual client and that people do that all the time, including via telemedicine consults; she wonders how the Board could possibly regulate such a thing and asks how it could possibly have been unethical or illegal.
The Investigative Committee said there was a misunderstand or misinterpretation of what Chapman said; there was no violation here. (The same investigators find Chapman guilty of gross negligence in the very next complaint, 21-53, which is totally unrelated.)
Regarding Chapman's statement of how one could possibly stop people from providing medical advice or how it would be unethical to do so, one might read up on the case of Ron Hines. Hines, a veterinarian out of Texas, ran a website with information about veterinary health; he would also assist people dealing with significant veterinary health issues by researching the literature and providing advice in exchange for a donation to his wildlife rescue. Other veterinarians ganged up on the guy through the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. Related lawsuits went on for over a decade.
| Source: | May 5, 2021 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Debbie Chapman | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Steve Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | June 6, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Deborah Chapman | Respondent |
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Sarah Heinrich | Absent |
| Result: | Passed |
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information will be included here.