The South Carolina Senate committee voted unanimously to report Paige Mackey’s nomination favorably to the full Senate after a confirmation hearing in which Mackey described her background as an internal medicine veterinarian and answered questions about telemedicine, workforce and veterinary specialty capacity.

Paige Mackey, introduced herself as an internal‑medicine veterinarian who has worked in several states and said she has practiced in South Carolina for about eight years. "I am an internal medicine veterinarian, specifically small animal, so dogs and cats only," Mackey told the committee during introductory remarks.

Committee members asked about teleconsulting and telemedicine; Mackey said teleconsulting generally involves peer‑to‑peer consultation where the clinician calling in already has a veterinarian‑client‑patient relationship (VCPR) with the animal. She said telemedicine will likely lag behind human medicine ‘‘but it’s going to be a really important topic of future progress.’’

Senators pressed Mackey on statewide needs for veterinary medicine. Mackey said South Carolina has strength in client communication and rapport but is limited in specialty capacity compared with larger states; she said the state has fewer specialty internists per capita than larger centers and encouraged growth in specialty services.

Senator from Lawrence moved for a favorable report; after a second, the committee recorded affirmative votes including senators Nutt, Kimbrell, Goldfinch, Johnson, Young and Chaplin and noted recorded proxies for Sutton (on behalf of Graham) and Stubbs. The chair said the vote constituted a unanimous committee recommendation and the nomination will proceed to the Senate floor.

Mackey thanked the committee; she will face floor consideration according to Senate scheduling. The committee did not take any additional action during the hearing.