General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2005>Professions and Occupations

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Professions and Occupations

Passed

P HB160

Practice of optometry in commercial or mercantile establishments. Provides that an optometrist shall be deemed to be practicing in a commercial or mercantile establishment if he practices in any location that provides direct access to or from such an establishment. The bill defines "direct access," and stipulates that certain optometric and ophthalmologic practices are not commercial or mercantile establishments. It remains unlawful under this bill for optometrists to practice in commercial and mercantile establishments. The bill contains a delayed effective date clause (December 31, 2005). This bill is identical to SB 272.
Patron - Reid

P HB1606

Expedited licensure or certification of certain nurses. Authorizes the Board of Nursing to expedite application processing, to the extent possible, for an applicant for licensure or certification, upon submission of evidence that the applicant, who is licensed or certified in another state, is relocating to the Commonwealth pursuant to a spouse's official military orders.
Patron - Baskerville

P HB1607

Contact information during a health emergency. Requires the Department of Health Professions, as the licensing authority, to provide to the State Veterinarian the e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and facsimile numbers of licensed veterinarians in the event of an animal health emergency. The Department and the State Veterinarian are prohibited from publishing, releasing, or making available the contact information for any other purpose.
Patron - Shuler

P HB1683

Civil immunity; disposal of a dead body. Immunizes any funeral service establishment, funeral service licensee, or registered crematory from civil liability for disposing of a dead body unless it acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. This bill also states exceptions to when a funeral service establishment can accept a body without inquiring about the desires of the next of kin.
Patron - Janis

P HB1732

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; regulation of martial arts competitions. Includes martial arts competitions under the existing regulation of boxing and wrestling competitions. The bill defines martial arts as any of several Asian arts of combat or self-defense, including but not limited to aikido, karate, judo, or tae kwon do, usually practiced as sport and which may involve the use of striking weapons.
Patron - Cosgrove

P HB1865

Health professions; executive director of the Board of Pharmacy. Requires the executive director of the Board of Pharmacy to be a pharmacist. The present and past executive directors of the Board of Pharmacy have been pharmacists; however, the law has not previously mandated this qualification.
Patron - Morgan

P HB1921

Board for Contractors; water well systems provider licensure and certification. Requires the State Board for Contractors to establish a water well systems provider certification program beginning July 1, 2007. Regulations shall establish three levels of certification: trainee, journeyman, and master driller. From July 1, 2007 until June 30, 2012, no person shall engage in the construction of a water well unless a certified water well contractor (of any level of certification) is onsite at all times during the construction. Beginning July 1, 2012, the onsite certified water well contractor must be a master driller. The bill exempts certain individuals from any examination requirements of the program if they provide satisfactory proof of continuous experience in water well construction.
Patron - Cox

P HB1932

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; powers and duties of regulatory boards. Authorizes regulatory boards assigned to the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) to place regulants on probation for statutory or regulatory violations. Conditions of probation may include, but not be limited to, the successful completion of remedial education or examination. The bill also authorizes the regulatory boards to delegate authority to (i) the Director of DPOR to enter into consent agreements with regulants to resolve regulatory violations and (ii) sworn investigators appointed by the Director to conduct inspections.
Patron - Shannon

P HB1939

Health professions; unprofessional conduct. Consolidates and updates various provisions relating to the Board of Medicine's licensure and disciplinary authority and the appointments to the Board. The bill removes the Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists from the nomination process for the appointment of members to the Board of Medicine because the clinical psychologist position on the Board was abolished several years ago when the licensure of clinical psychologists was placed solely with the Board of Psychology. The bill amends the Board's provisions on unprofessional conduct to consolidate all elements of unprofessional conduct into one section and now clearly provides that the provisions apply to applicants for licensure, as well as licensees of the Board. Finally, the bill clarifies the actions constituting unprofessional conduct by consolidating the enumerated behavior into one statute. Thus, the Board's authority is clear in regard to denial of a license or certificate or refusal to admit a candidate to an examination or other disciplinary actions for all professions regulated by the Board.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB2038

Health professions; practice of midwifery. Provides for the licensing by the Board of Medicine of those persons who have obtained the Certified Professional Midwife credential to practice midwifery pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board of Medicine. The Board of Medicine shall adopt regulations, with advice from the Advisory Board on Midwifery established in this bill. The regulations shall (i) address the requirements for licensure to practice midwifery, (ii) be consistent with the current job analysis for the profession except that prescriptive authority and the possession and administration of controlled substances shall be prohibited, (iii) ensure independent practice, (iv) provide for an appropriate license fee, and (v) include requirements for licensure renewal and continuing education. The regulations shall not (a) require any agreement, written or otherwise, with another health care professional or (b) require the assessment of a woman who is seeking midwifery services by another health care professional. Licensed midwives must disclose to clients certain background information, including their training and experience, written protocol for medical emergencies, malpractice or liability insurance coverage, and procedures to file complaints with the Board of Medicine. The bill provides immunity to physicians, nurses, prehospital emergency personnel or health care institutions for acts resulting from the administration of services by any licensed midwife. This bill is identical to SB 1259.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB2123

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; unlicensed activity. Provides that any person convicted of a violation of certain enumerated acts may also be ordered by the court to pay restitution.
Patron - Eisenberg

P HB2237

Practitioner Self-Referral Act; exemption. Exempts from prohibited practitioner self-referrals law (i) the health services to be received by a patient referred by a practitioner to that practitioner's immediate family member's office or group practice when the referral is within the scope of practice and the treating practitioner to whom the patient is referred is duly qualified and licensed to provide the health services to be received and (ii) the primary purpose of the referral is to obtain the appropriate professional health services for the patient being referred and the primary purpose of the referral is not for the provision of certain designated health services.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB2242

Pharmacy interns. Permits pharmacy interns to provide medication counseling and perform all other acts a pharmacist may perform under the Drug Control Act, including immunizations, if the supervising pharmacist is directly monitoring these activities.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB2260

Health professions; unlawful advertising signage; exemption. Creates an exemption for certain historic buildings not currently operated as pharmacies, allowing such buildings to post signage indicating the operation of a pharmacy or drugstore provided that the signage relates to the historic character of the building. Currently, such signage is prohibited on any building that does not operate as a pharmacy.
Patron - Bell

P HB2368

Health; licensure of dentists by credentials and volunteer licenses for retired dentists and dental hygienists. Clarifies or revises various requirements for licensure to practice dentistry and dental hygiene, including the Board's inspection authority, nominations to the Governor for Board appointments, conditions for inactive licenses, permissible practices of dental assistants, authority to practice under a firm or trade name, and causes for suspension, revocation or other sanctions. The bill authorizes the Board of Dentistry to grant, without an additional examination, a license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in Virginia to persons holding current, unrestricted licenses to practice in another state who satisfy certain credentialing requirements. For example, out-of-state dentists will be required to have passed Part I and Part II of the examination given by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, be of good moral character, be graduates of accredited dental schools, have not failed a clinical examination in the past five years, and have been in continuous clinical practice for five of the six preceding years. The bill further clarifies the Board's authority and requirements for issuance of volunteer licenses to retired dentists or dental hygienists, licenses to teach dentistry, and temporary permits for clinicians The Board must promulgate emergency regulations. This bill is identical to SB 1127.
Patron - Bryant

P HB2429

Prescription Monitoring Program. Expands the Prescription Monitoring Program to include reporting by out-of-state dispensers (nonresident pharmacies) and to cover the entire Commonwealth. To assist in verifying the validity of a prescription, the bill extends the authority to query the system to prescribers licensed in other states and to pharmacists. The fourth and fifth enactment clauses of Chapter 481 of the 2002 Acts of Assembly are repealed to remove the funding contingencies and the restriction on the application of the program to a pilot project covering the southwestern region of Virginia. The program requires the reporting of "covered substances," that, pursuant to this bill, will include all controlled substances in Schedules II, III, and IV of the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.) of Title 54.1. Emergency regulations must be promulgated by the Director. Although the bill will be effective in due course, i.e., July 1, 2005, its provisions will not be implemented or enforced until the date on which the emergency regulations become effective. The Director is required to notify all out-of-state and Virginia dispensers who will be newly subject to the reporting requirements of the Prescription Monitoring Program prior to the date on which the provisions of this act will be implemented and enforced. This bill is identical to SB1098.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB2431

Health professions; certain practitioner information provided to patients. Requires, upon request by a patient, doctors of medicine, osteopathy, and podiatry to inform patients (i) about procedures to access information on the doctor compiled by the Board of Medicine and (ii) that, if the patient is not covered by a health insurance plan that the doctor accepts or a managed care health insurance plan in which the doctor participates, the patient may be subject to the doctor's full charge, which may be greater than the health plan's allowable charge.
Patron - Hamilton

P HB2510

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Barbers and Cosmetology; regulation of estheticians. Provides for the licensure of estheticians. The bill defines estheticians and requires the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology to adopt regulations governing the practice of esthetics and schools of esthetics and instructors thereof by July 1, 2007. The bill defines "master esthetician" as a licensed esthetician who, in addition to the practice of esthetics, offers to the public for compensation, lymphatic drainage, chemical exfoliation, and microdermabrasion, and who has met such additional requirements as determined by the Board to practice lymphatic drainage, chemical exfoliation with products other than schedules II through VI controlled substances, and microdermabrasion. The bill also increases from eight to 10 the membership of the Board by adding two members who are licensed as estheticians, at least one of whom is an esthetics salon owner and one of whom may be an owner, operator, or designated representative of a licensed esthetics school. Finally, the bill contains provisions for waiver from licensure examinations those meeting certain requirements. The bill has a delayed enactment (July 1, 2007), except for the provisions relating to Board membership.
Patron - Welch

P HB2524

Drug Control Act; compounding. Excludes from the definition of "compounding" the mixing, diluting, or reconstituting of a manufacturer's product for the purpose of administration to a patient when performed by a practitioner of medicine or osteopathy licensed under Chapter 29 of Title 54.1 or a person supervised by such a practitioner. The bill further excludes from the definition of "dispense" the transportation of drugs mixed, diluted, or reconstituted in accordance with Chapter 34 of Title 54.1 to other sites operated by such practitioner or practitioner's medical practice for the purpose of administration of such drugs to patients of the practitioner or that practitioner's medical practice at such other sites. For practitioners of medicine or osteopathy, "dispense" only includes the provision of drugs by a practitioner to patients to take with them away from the practitioner's place of practice. Emergency regulations are required. This bill incorporates HB 2043.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB2526

Health professions; athletic trainers. Allows out-of-state practitioners of one of the professions regulated by the Board of Medicine to travel with a team or athlete and practice in Virginia for the duration of the event. The bill allows licensed athletic trainers to possess and administer certain Schedule VI topical drugs routinely used in their practice and to possess and administer epinephrine for anaphylactic shock. The bill also contains a technical amendment.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB2538

Health; registration of nonresident pharmacies; summary proceedings. Provides that the Board of Pharmacy will only register nonresident pharmacies that maintain a current unrestricted registration or license as a pharmacy in a jurisdiction that may lawfully deliver prescription drugs directly or indirectly to consumers within the United States. Such registration of nonresident pharmacies shall be immediately suspended, without a hearing, upon receipt of documentation by the licensing agency in the jurisdiction where a nonresident pharmacy registered with the Board is located that it has had its license or registration as a pharmacy revoked or suspended by that agency or that the nonresident pharmacy no longer holds a valid unexpired license or registration as a pharmacy. Further, the Board may summarily suspend the registration of any nonresident pharmacy without a hearing, simultaneously with the institution of proceedings for a hearing, if it finds that there is a substantial danger to the public health or safety that warrants such action. A nonresident pharmacy with a suspended registration shall not ship, mail, or deliver any Schedule II through VI drugs into the Commonwealth unless reinstated by the Board.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB2549

Receivers for attorneys. Clarifies and makes more specific provisions regarding receiverships for attorneys who become disabled, impaired, absent, deceased, suspended, or disbarred. The bill also provides that receivers of attorneys' practices will be covered under the State's risk management plan when acting in an authorized governmental or proprietary capacity and in the course and scope of employment or authorization. This bill is identical to SB 831.
Patron - Moran

P HB2584

Persons who may witness an advance directive. Authorizes any person over the age of 18, including a spouse or blood relative of the declarant, to serve as a witness for the advance directive. Current law prohibits a spouse or blood relative from serving as a witness.
Patron - Kilgore

P HB2598

Department of Health Professions; Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers; licensing of funeral service providers and approval of resident trainees. Removes the restriction on licensure of convicted felons. The bill also reduces the time in which a resident trainee may apply and take the examination for licensure and clarifies the time period in which a resident trainee may practice. The Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers is authorized to deny subsequent traineeships if the first traineeship is not completed within a certain time. The bill prohibits the approval of any person as a resident trainee who has been convicted of embezzlement or of defiling a dead human body. In addition, the Board must provide renewal notices by mail to licensees, upon request. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Ware, O.

P HB2683

Firearms shows; prior notice. Eliminates the requirement that gun show promoters provide a list of vendors and exhibitors to the State Police and the sheriff or chief of police of the locality in which the show will be held 72 hours prior to the show. Gun show promoters will still be required to provide law enforcement with at least 30 days' notice of any show. The bill also changes from 72 hours to five days the time within which the promoter must send the vendor and exhibitor list after the show and would allow a promoter to send that list via e-mail.
Patron - Lingamfelter

P HB2711

Practice of fitting or dealing in hearing aids. Amends current definition of the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing aids to be the practice of fitting "or" dealing in hearing aids. The bill makes similar changes to the relevant licensing provisions.
Patron - Sickles

P HB2716

Health professions; pharmacy and the schedule of drugs. Adds to and deletes certain drugs from Schedule I and adds Dihydroetorphine, Carfentanil, and Sufentanil to Schedule II to conform to recent changes in federal drug schedules. The bill corrects errors in spelling, nomenclature, and formatting and adds other names for chemical entities already listed.
Patron - Morgan

P HB2804

Civil immunity; persons making voluntary reports regarding health care practitioners. Immunizes from civil liability any person who makes a voluntary report to the appropriate regulatory board or to the Department of Health Professions regarding the unprofessional conduct or competency of any practitioner licensed, certified, or registered by that health regulatory board, unless he acts maliciously or in bad faith. Current law immunizes those persons making reports required by law or pursuant to an investigation or testimony in a judicial or administrative proceeding.
Patron - Van Yahres

P HB2843

Real Estate Board; powers; cease and desist orders; civil penalty. Authorizes the Real Estate Board to issue cease and desist orders for unlicensed activity. The bill provides for a right of appeal of the Real Estate Board's issuance of such an order and specifies the civil penalty.
Patron - McDougle

P HB2857

Drug Control Act; compounding. Conforms the compounding provisions in the Drug Control Act to the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary standards for pharmacy compounding.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB2863

Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects; land surveying. Provides an exemption from licensure as a land surveyor for persons utilizing photogrammetric methods or similar remote sensing technology to determine topography, contours, or depiction of physical improvements provided such determination shall not be used for the design, modification, or construction of improvements to real property, or for flood plain determination. The bill authorizes the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects to adopt regulations establishing different licensure requirements for a limited area of the practice of land surveying for persons who determine topography, contours or depiction of physical improvements utilizing photogrammetric methods or similar remote sensing technology and who are not otherwise exempt. Any such requirements shall include reasonable provisions for licensure without examination of persons deemed by the Board to be qualified to provide photogrammetric and remote sensing surveying services. This bill is identical to SB 1306.
Patron - Bryant

P SB272

P SB716

Physician assistants practicing in hospital emergency departments. Authorizes physician assistants who are not employed to practice in emergency departments of hospitals to so practice, within the scope of their practice, while under continuous physician supervision, regardless of whether the supervising physician is physically present in the facility. The supervising physician must retain exclusive supervisory control of and responsibility for the assistant and be available at all times for consultation with both the assistant and the emergency department physician. The assistant must communicate the proposed disposition plan prior to the patient's discharge to both his supervising physician and the emergency department physician.
Patron - Edwards

P SB831

P SB916

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Contractors; Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund. Increases the maximum amount of a single claim against the Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund from $10,000 to $20,000.
Patron - Marsh

P SB1090

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Contractors; Class B contractor license. Raises the limit for Class B licensed contractors for a single contract from $70,000 to $120,000 and for total contracts within a 12-month period from $500,000 to $750,000. The threshold requirements for Class A licensed contractors are also made to account for the increased Class B thresholds. The bill also specifies that the designated employee of the contractor may be a member of the contractor's responsible management personnel. The bill also provides an exemption from licensure as a contractor under certain circumstances for an owner-developer, defined in the bill as any person who, for a third party purchaser, orders or supervises the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of any building or structure permanently annexed to real property owned, controlled, or leased by the owner-developer, or any other improvement to such property and who contracts with a person licensed for the work undertaken.
Patron - Puckett

P SB1098

P SB1127

Health; licensure of dentists by credentials and volunteer licenses for retired dentists and dental hygienists. Clarifies or revises various requirements for licensure to practice dentistry and dental hygiene, including the Board's inspection authority, nominations to the Governor for Board appointments, conditions for inactive licenses, permissible practices of dental assistants, authority to practice under a firm or trade name, and causes for suspension, revocation or other sanctions. The bill authorizes the Board of Dentistry to grant, without an additional examination, a license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in Virginia to persons holding current, unrestricted licenses to practice in another state who satisfy certain credentialing requirements. For example, out-of-state dentists will be required to have passed Part I and Part II of the examination given by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, are of good moral character, graduates of accredited dental schools, have not failed a clinical examination in the past five years, and have been in continuous clinical practice for five of the six preceding years. The bill further clarifies the Board's authority and requirements for issuance of volunteer licenses to retired dentists or dental hygienists, licenses to teach dentistry, and temporary permits for clinicians The Board must promulgate emergency regulations. This bill is identical to HB 2368.
Patron - Houck

P SB1166

Cemetery operators, perpetual care trust funds and preneed burial contracts; penalties. Revises the penalty provisions to provide that a violation of the regulatory statutes must have been willful and intentional to constitute a misdemeanor. In order to constitute a felony the action must have been done with the intent to defraud.
Patron - Stolle

P SB1259

Health professions; practice of midwifery. Provides for the licensing by the Board of Medicine of those persons who have obtained the Certified Professional Midwife credential to practice midwifery pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board of Medicine. The Board of Medicine must adopt regulations, with advice from the Advisory Board on Midwifery, which is established in this bill. The regulations must (i) address the requirements for licensure to practice midwifery, including the establishment of standards of care, (ii) be consistent with the current job analysis for the profession except that prescriptive authority and the possession and administration of controlled substances shall be prohibited, (iii) ensure independent practice, (iv) provide for an appropriate license fee, and (v) include requirements for licensure renewal and continuing education. The regulations must not (a) require any agreement, written or otherwise, with another health care professional or (b) require the assessment of a woman who is seeking midwifery services by another health care professional. Licensed midwives must disclose to clients certain background information, including their training and experience, written protocol for medical emergencies, malpractice or liability insurance coverage, and procedures to file complaints with the Board of Medicine. No person other than the licensed midwife who provided care to the patient will be liable for the midwife's negligent, grossly negligent or willful and wanton acts or omissions. Other health care providers will be liable for their own subsequent and independent negligent, grossly negligent or willful and wanton acts or omissions or when they have a business relationship with the licensed midwife who delivered the care. Mere consultation or acceptance of referrals will not be deemed to establish a business relationship, agency or employment relationship, or partnership or joint venture. This bill is identical to HB 2038.
Patron - Quayle

P SB1306

P SB1326

Health; wholesale drug distributors; pedigree system. Directs the Board of Health to promulgate regulations establishing and implementing a pedigree system to record each distribution of a controlled substance from sale by a pharmaceutical manufacturer through acquisition and sale by any wholesale distributor, until final sale to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the controlled substance. The Board must structure the implementation of the pedigree with limited application to certain schedules or certain drugs upon finding that such drugs are more subject to counterfeiting. The bill also includes a definition of "pedigree."
Patron - Ruff

Failed

F HB455

Health professions; licensure of dietitians. Requires dietitians to be licensed by the Board of Medicine. The "practice of dietetics" is defined as the integration and application of principles derived from the sciences of nutrition, biochemistry, food, physiology, management and behavioral and social sciences to achieve and maintain health through the provision of nutrition care services that shall include (i) assessing the nutrition needs of individuals and groups based upon appropriate biochemical, anthropomorphic, physical, and dietary data to determine nutrient needs and recommending appropriate intake including enteral and parenteral nutrition; (ii) establishing priorities, goals, and objectives that meet nutrition needs and are consistent with available resources; (iii) providing dietetic nutrition counseling by advising and assisting individuals or groups on appropriate nutrition intake by integrating information from the nutrition assessment with information on food and other sources of nutrients and meal preparation consistent with cultural background and socioeconomic status; (iv) developing, implementing, and managing nutrition care delivery systems; and (v) evaluating, making changes in, and maintaining standards of quality in food and nutrition care services. The bill provides that the practice of dietetics includes medical nutrition therapy. The Board of Medicine is given the authority to establish criteria for licensure that include (a) at least a bachelors degree in human nutrition, nutrition education, foods and nutrition, food systems management, dietetics, or public health nutrition or a related field from an accredited college that meets the requirements of the Commission on Dietetic Registration; (b) at least 900 hours of supervised experience approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration; (c) passage of the examination for registration administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration or current registration with the Commission on Dietetic Registration; and (d) documentation that the applicant for licensure has not had his license or certification as a dietitian suspended or revoked and is not the subject of any disciplinary proceedings in another jurisdiction. Exceptions to the licensure requirement are provided for (1) any student performing activities related to an educational program under the supervision of a licensed dietitian or any person completing the supervised practice required for licensure; (2) a registered dietetic technician working under the supervision and direction of a licensed dietitian; (3) a government employee or a person under contract to the government acting within the scope of such employment or contract; (4) any health professional licensed or certified under this title when engaging in the profession for which he is licensed or any person working under the supervision of such a professional; (5) a certified teacher employed by or under contract to any public or private elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education; (6) any person with management responsibility for food service department policies, procedures, or outcomes in any food service department in any program or facility licensed by the Commonwealth; (7) any person who does not hold himself out to be a dietitian who furnishes general nutrition information on food, food products, or dietary supplements or explains to customers about food, food products, or dietary supplements in connection with marketing and distribution of food or food products; or (8) any person who provides weight control, wellness, or exercise services involving nutrition provided the program has been reviewed by a licensed dietitian, no change is initiated without prior approval of the dietitian, and consultation is available from a licensed dietitian. No dietitian employed as such prior to June 30, 2004, will be required to comply with licensure until July 1, 2006. Finally, the bill creates an Advisory Board on Dietitians that expires July 1, 2007.
Patron - McQuigg

F HB1554

Funeral service establishment. Permits a funeral service establishment to accept a dead human body without having first inquired about the desires of the next of kin and the persons liable for the funeral expenses of the decedent from a sheriff with a judicial order for disposition of the body and, when appropriate, the necessary certification of the medical examiner to cremate. This bill has been incorporated into HB 1683.
Patron - Alexander

F HB1850

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; availability of examinations in languages other than English. In addition to the general powers and duties conferred on regulatory boards, the regulatory boards within the Department that are authorized to conduct examinations of applicants for admission to practice or pursue any profession, vocation, trade, calling, or art regulated by the Department, shall make available, upon the request of any such applicant, an examination that has been translated into Spanish. The bill also provides that these regulatory boards may translate examinations into other languages as the respective board deems appropriate.
Patron - Eisenberg

F HB1940

Health professions; competency evaluations of certain practitioners. Requires the Board of Medicine to do an assessment of the competency of certain practitioners on whose behalf three medical malpractice claims are paid in a 10-year period. This bill has been incorporated into HB 2659.
Patron - O'Bannon

F HB2005

The practice of healing arts by electronic mediums and by out-of-state practitioners. Amends the exception to Virginia licensing requirements regarding out-of-state practitioners to allow a licensing exception for practitioners who come into Virginia, either in person or by use of any electronic or other mediums, to consult with legally licensed resident practitioners or to consult with personnel at a medical school about educational or medical training, only if this is done on an irregular basis. This exception specifically excludes practitioners residing in a neighboring state who regularly practice in Virginia. The bill also adds the use of electronic or other mediums including prescribing medication by use of the Internet or a toll-free number to the Code section that states what constitutes the practice of healing arts, and subjects any person so practicing to the relevant state statutes and Board regulations. The bill attempts to parallel similar provisions in North Carolina law.
Patron - Armstrong

F HB2042

Mandated disclosure of medical treatment options. Requires any physician to disclose all known and available medical treatment options, orally and in written form, to patients. The oral and written information shall be communicated in nontechnical, readily understandable language, using words of common, everyday usage. However, no such disclosure shall be required if (i) the physician treating the patient determines that the information, if given to the patient, would be reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of or cause substantial harm to the patient; (ii) the patient is an incapacitated person; or (iii) the patient states affirmatively that he does not want the information. If the physician does not make such disclosure to a patient, he shall record the fact and the reason in the patient's record. The physician may make such disclosure to a family member of the patient, at the patient's request, or to a legally authorized representative of the patient.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB2043

Drug Control Act; compounding. Excludes from the definition of "compounding" acts of those persons authorized by Chapter 29 of Title 54.1 (i) to administer controlled substances and (ii) to administer controlled substances for a patient under the supervision of one so authorized by Chapter 29 of Title 54.1. This bill has been incorporated into HB 2524.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB2044

Prescription Monitoring Program. Expands the Prescription Monitoring Program to include reporting by out-of-state dispensers (nonresident pharmacies) and prescribers licensed in other states and to cover the entire Commonwealth. The fourth and fifth enactment clauses of Chapter 481 of the 2002 Acts of Assembly are repealed to remove the funding contingencies and the restriction on the application of the program to a pilot project covering the southwestern region of Virginia. The program requires the reporting of "covered substances," which, pursuant to this bill, will include all controlled substances included on Schedules II, III, and IV in the Drug Control Act. January 1, 2006 is the effective date of the bill; however, emergency regulations must be promulgated by the Director who must also notify, prior to January 1, 2006, all out-of-state and Virginia dispensers who will be newly subject to the reporting requirements of the Prescription Monitoring Program.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB2088

Schedule I controlled substances; additional substance. Adds 1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine (TFMPP) to the list of Schedule I controlled substances.
Patron - Shannon

F HB2142

Legal malpractice; Clients' Protection Fund. Requires the Virginia State Bar to assess attorneys who are licensed to practice law in Virginia and engaged in the active practice of law but are not covered by a legal malpractice insurance policy or by the risk management program adopted by the Division of Risk Management $1,500 annually, to be deposited into the Clients' Protection Fund. The requirement does not apply to government attorneys; attorneys employed solely as in-house counsel for a corporation or other business entity; attorneys registered as lobbyists; and other attorneys who do not normally represent the general public.
Patron - Joannou

F HB2205

Disclosure of certain malpractice settlements via the Physician Information Project. Modifies the reporting and disclosure requirements concerning malpractice settlements relating to physicians of medicine, osteopathy, and podiatry. The bill prohibits the disclosure online via the Physician Information Project of malpractice settlements that are required to be reported by insurance companies, and limits reports to the Board of Medicine from individual physicians to malpractice judgments. The settlements will still be reported to the Board of Medicine by the malpractice carriers.
Patron - Marrs

F HB2402

Life skills trainers; licensure exemption. Exempts, from the requirements for licensure to practice occupational therapy, those persons employed or contracted to provide living skills training to persons with disabilities in a facility or program designed to promote independent living for such persons.
Patron - Phillips

F HB2488

Practice of naturopathy; definition; requirements for licensure; advisory board established. Requires practitioners of naturopathy to be licensed by the Board of Medicine. The Board is required to promulgate regulations governing the qualifications of licensure. Authorized scope of practice of naturopathy shall include manual manipulation, or mechanotherapy; and the prescription, administration, dispensing, and use of, except for the treatment of malignancies or neoplastic disease: (i) nutrition and food science; (ii) physical modalities; (iii) homeopathy; (iv) certain medicines of mineral, animal, and botanical origin; (v) hygiene and immunization; and (vi) common diagnostic procedures. The bill also establishes an advisory board with five members appointed by the Governor to assist the Board of Medicine with regard to the practice of naturopathy.
Patron - Petersen

F HB2518

The practice of optometry in commercial establishments; reporting requirements. Removes the current law prohibiting optometrists from practicing as a lessee of or in a commercial or mercantile establishment, including the prohibition on advertising through such establishment. The bill also provides that failure to report (i) suspected instances of optometrists being supervised by agents or employees of commercial establishments, and (ii) instances where an agent or employee of a commercial establishment is controlling or influencing an optometrist's professional judgment could result in the revocation or suspension of provisions of an optometrist's license.
Patron - O'Bannon

F HB2550

Advance medical directives. Specifies that advance medical directives can grant the agent the power to authorize the declarant's admission to or discharge (including transfer to another facility) from any hospital, hospice, nursing home, adult home, or other medical care facility, if the declarant is determined incapable of making an informed decision.
Patron - Moran

F HB2783

Veterinary assistants. Requires the Board of Veterinary Medicine to adopt regulations authorizing unlicensed veterinary assistants, while in the employ and under the immediate and direct supervision and control of a person licensed to practice veterinary medicine, to perform certain duties that are normally performed by licensed veterinary technicians. Such authorized duties shall include, but not be limited to, placing and securing intravenous catheters.
Patron - Ward

F HB2896

Assisted living facilities; administrators to be licensed. Requires administrators of assisted living facilities to be licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators within the Department of Health Professions. The bill renames the Board of Nursing Home Administrators as the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. The licensing provisions shall not take effect until July 1, 2007. The Board of Long-Term Care Administrators shall submit the proposed criteria for licensing assisted living administrators to the chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health on or before January 1, 2006. This bill is identical to SB 1185 and has been incorporated into HB 2512.
Patron - BaCote

F SB829

Health; treatment of narrow angle glaucoma. Provides that treatment of narrow angle glaucoma by optometrists must include timely referral to an ophthalmologist for consideration of preventive invasive procedures. The bill also includes definitions of "narrow angle glaucoma" and "adnexa" and prohibits treatment by optometrists of the paranasal sinuses, eyebrows, the brain, the oropharyngeal cavity, and certain systemic disease processes including hypertension, diabetes, and collagen vascular diseases.
Patron - Mims

F SB877

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Contractors; court-ordered restitution in cases of unlicensed activity. Clarifies the authority of courts to order restitution in cases where a person is convicted of performing contracting without the required contractor's license, class of license, or certificate.
Patron - Wampler

F SB1036

Prescription drugs; pedigree of normal distribution chain required. Requires any person engaged in the wholesale distribution of a controlled substance to provide a paper or electronic pedigree identifying each sale, trade, or transfer of a controlled substance when it leaves the normal distribution channel and is sold, traded, or transferred to any other person. Such pedigree shall include all necessary identifying information concerning each sale in the chain of distribution of the product from the manufacturer through acquisition and sale by any wholesale distributor or repackager until final sale to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the drug. The bill also includes the following restrictions on transactions of controlled substances: (i) in any calendar month a wholesale distributor must sell, distribute, or transfer at least 95 percent of its total amount of controlled substances to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the controlled substance; (ii) prior to selling a controlled substance to any person, a manufacturer or wholesale distributor must verify that the person is legally authorized to receive such substances; and (iii) a wholesale distributor may not purchase a controlled substance from a pharmacy unless it was originally purchased by the pharmacy from the wholesale distributor. Under no circumstances may a wholesale distributor receive a greater quantity of a controlled substance from a pharmacy than was originally sold by the distributor to the pharmacy or pay a pharmacy more for any controlled substance than the pharmacy originally paid the distributor.
Patron - Ruff

F SB1178

Counterfeiting of prescription drugs; increased penalty. Increases the penalty for knowingly and willfully counterfeiting a prescription drug, including manufacturing, selling, distributing, or dispensing or facilitating any of those activities regarding such drug from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class 5 felony. The bill defines "counterfeit drug" for the purposes of the Drug Control Act.
Patron - Stolle

F SB1185

Assisted living facilities; administrators to be licensed. Requires administrators of assisted living facilities to be licensed by the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators within the Department of Health Professions. The bill renames the Board of Nursing Home Administrators as the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. The licensing provisions shall not take effect until July 1, 2007. The Board of Long-Term Care Administrators shall submit the proposed criteria for licensing assisted living administrators to the chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health on or before January 1, 2006. This bill is identical to HB 2896 and has been incorporated into SB 1183.
Patron - Puller

F SB1330

Court reporters. Creates the Virginia Board of Court Reporting to prescribe qualifications for court reporters and to issue licenses in order to establish and maintain a standard of competency for the protection of the public. The bill includes a provision requiring the Board to enact emergency regulations.
Patron - Quayle

F SJ322

Survey of nonemployed dental hygienists. Requests the Virginia Dental Association to update the survey of nonemployed dental hygienists in order to determine whether these persons are planning to reenter the profession, thereby providing a corps of skilled dental hygienists and easing the demand for these professionals in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Dental Association is requested to submit an executive summary and report of its progress in meeting the request of this resolution to the 2006 Regular Session of the General Assembly. This resolution was considered by the Joint Subcommittee Studying Access to and Costs of Oral Health Care.
Patron - Marsh

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