CONTENTS | < PREVIOUS | NEXT > | BILL INDEX

Professions and Occupations

P Passed

P HB84

Reports of disciplinary actions to the Board of Medicine. Corrects a reference to the federal law relating to confidentiality of certain substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation, research, etc., records. The referenced federal law limits disclosure of any substance abuse records relating to any program conducted, regulated, or directly or indirectly assisted by a federal agency. The current reference is outdated as the relevant law has been transferred several times during this decade.

Patron - Morgan

P HB253

Health Professions; Board of Licensed Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists and Substance Abuse Professionals. Changes the name of the current board to be known as the Board of Counseling.

Patron - Hamilton

P HB427

Foreign subpoena in lawyer disciplinary proceedings. Facilitates the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents in interstate disciplinary investigations. This subpoena power will be recognized only when requested by those jurisdictions that grant Virginia's subpoenas for disciplinary proceedings the same power. This bill is identical to Senate Bill 89.

Patron - McDonnell

P HB452

Health Professions; psychology. Adds provisions for continuing education requirements of 14 hours of approved education annually for licensure as a psychologist licensed by the Board of Psychology. The bill allows the Board to approve criteria for courses and course providers. Written certification of attendance and satisfactory completion shall be maintained for four years by both the course provider and the applicant for licensure. The Board shall also have the authority to grant exemptions or waivers or to reduce the number of hours required in cases of certified illness or undue hardship.

Patron - Hamilton

P HB484

Authority to consent to surgical and medical treatment of certain minors; emergency medical services. Provides that, whenever delay in providing (i) transportation in an emergency medical services vehicle or (ii) medical or surgical treatment at the scene of an accident, fire or other emergency to a minor may adversely affect such minor's recovery, and no person authorized to consent to treatment is available within a reasonable time under the circumstances, no liability shall be imposed on emergency medical services personnel by reason of lack of consent to transportation or treatment. The bill requires that, in the case of a minor 14 years of age or older who is physically capable of giving consent, such consent shall be obtained first.

Patron - Landes

P HB504

Licenses or certificates of contractors. Provides that the awarding authority in a bid process shall require a contractor or bidder to submit a copy of his license or certificate or number prior to considering the bid.

Patron - Cranwell

P HB523

Board for Contractors; liquefied petroleum gas fitter and natural gas fitter providers. Extends the provision for the waiver of examination for individuals applying for licensure as a liquefied petroleum gas fitter or natural gas fitter to within one year of the effective date of the Board's final regulations. Current law contains a waiver of the examination for such individuals who apply between July 1, 1999, and July 1, 2000. The bill also provides that individuals applying for licensure as a liquefied petroleum gas fitter between July 1, 2000, and July 1, 2005, shall be deemed to have fulfilled the examination requirement if they can demonstrate at least five years of experience in an apprenticeship capacity under the direct supervision of a gas fitter.

Patron - Armstrong

P HB618

Cemetery Board. Requires cemetery companies providing a grave or an above-ground crypt or niche, without compensation, to deposit 10 percent of the retail sales price within 30 days after the close of the month in which the property is provided to the customer. The bill defines "retail sales price" as the standard, nondiscounted price included on the general price list required to be provided by the cemetery company upon beginning discussion of burial arrangements or the selection of any property or services. In addition, the bill adds to the definition of "cemetery company" any person maintaining a facility used for the interment or disposal of the remains and required to maintain perpetual care or preneed trust funds. The bill also contains technical amendments.

Patron - Ware

P HB677

Mental health service providers duty to inform. Requires any mental health service provider, as defined in § 54.1-2400.1, who learns of evidence that indicates a reasonable probability that another mental health provider is or may be guilty of a violation of standards of conduct to advise his patient of the right to report such information to the Department of Health Professions. The mental health service provider must provide the patient with information, including, but not limited to, the Department's toll-free complaint hotline number for consumer complaints and written information published by the Department of Health Professions, explaining how to file a report. The mental health service provider must also document in the patient's record the alleged misconduct, the category of licensure or certification and approximate dates of treatment, if known, of the mental health services provider who will be the subject of the report, the action taken by the mental health service provider to inform the patient of his right to file a complaint with the Department of Health Professions. The mental health service provider will be immune from any civil liability or criminal prosecution resulting therefrom unless such person acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. Any person failing to inform a patient of his right to file a complaint against a regulated person as provided in this bill will be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100.

Patron - Weatherholtz

P HB709

Attorneys; practice of patent law. Clarifies the requirements for attorneys admitted to the Virginia State Bar for the limited practice of patent law.

Patron - Plum

P HB818

Health professions; nurse practitioners. Expands the prescriptive authority of nurse practitioners, as follows: Schedules V and VI controlled substances on and after July 1, 2000; Schedules IV through VI on and after January 1, 2002; and Schedules III through VI controlled substances on and after July 1, 2003. Currently, nurse practitioners'prescriptive authority is limited to Schedule VI drugs. The bill also removes from the Boards of Nursing and Medicine the responsibility of developing a formulary for the specific drugs that nurse practitioners are allowed to prescribe and requires the supervising physician to develop a written agreement with each nurse practitioner under his supervision listing the controlled substances the nurse practitioner is or is not authorized to prescribe. In addition to the requirement of periodic site visits by physicians who supervise nurse practitioners which is currently in the law, the joint regulations of the Boards of Nursing and Medicine will include requirements for continued nurse practitioner competency, e.g., continuing education, testing, and/or any other requirement. The regulations must also address the need to promote ethical practice, an appropriate standard of care, patient safety, the use of new pharmaceuticals, and appropriate communication with patients. A second enactment clause requires the Joint Commission on Health Care, with the full cooperation of the Medical Society of Virginia, the Old Dominion Medical Society, the Board of Medicine, the Board of Nursing, and nurse practitioner associations, to study nurse practitioner prescriptive authority as provided in this act to determine the impact of the authority to prescribe Schedules III through VI controlled substances and devices on patient care, provider relationships, third-party reimbursement, physician practices, and patient satisfaction with nurse practitioner treatment. A preliminary report on this study must be provided by the Joint Commission to the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions by July 1, 2003. The Joint Commission must complete its work in time to submit its written findings and recommendations to the Governor and 2004 General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.

Patron - Devolites

P HB979

Health professions; physician assistants. Authorizes physicians and podiatrists to delegate to physician assistants initial and ongoing evaluation and treatment of patients in hospitals, including emergency departments. In hospitals, physician assistants must report any acute or significant findings or changes in patients' clinical status to the supervising physician as soon as circumstances require, and record these findings in appropriate institutional records. The physician assistant must transfer to a supervising physician the direction of care of any patient in an emergency department who has a life-threatening injury or illness. The supervising physician must review, prior to the patient's discharge, the services rendered by the physician assistant in an emergency department. The supervising physician must be present in the facility when a physician assistant is practicing in an emergency department. The physician responsible for the care of the patient must sign a protocol under Board regulations agreeing to act as a supervising physician for the assistant practicing in a hospital.

Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB994

Health professions; veterinarians. Requires veterinarians to release rabies immunization and relevant treatment data for any animal under their care when requested by a treating physician of a person when administration of the rabies treatment protocol is being contemplated.

Patron - Robinson

P HB1013

Health professions; Drug Control Act. Updates the Drug Control Act to reflect changes in the practice of pharmacy, to clarify requirements of a prescription, to remove obsolete language pertaining to the process for new drug approval, to eliminate the requirement for permitted pharmacies to maintain the current edition of the United States Pharmacopoeia Dispensing Information, and to conform drug schedules with changes in federal drug schedules.

Patron - Morgan

P HB1198

Health professions; innovative pharmacy programs. Authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to institute procedures to allow pilot projects for new and innovative procedures or processes in the practice of pharmacy. The provision specifically provides that the scope of practice of pharmacy is not expanded beyond current statutory guidelines. Projects may address such issues as the form of prescriptions and the transfer of information, manner of recordkeeping, use of ancillary personnel, and new technologies in the dispensing process. The Board will establish a committee to review and approve, either unconditionally or with conditions, any proposals, and denied proposals may be appealed.

Patron - Jones, S.C.

P HB1249

Health; nursing workforce information. Requires, with such funds as are appropriated for this purpose, the Board of Nursing to collect certain information about the nursing workforce in the Commonwealth and make such nonidentifying information available to interested parties.

Patron - Brink

P HB1250

Health professions; practice of acupuncture. Requires that, prior to performing any acupuncture procedure, any acupuncturist who is not licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic or podiatry must obtain either (i) written documentation that the patient had received a diagnostic examination by a medical practitioner with regard to that ailment or (ii) must provide to the patient a written recommendation for such a diagnostic exam. The bill also eliminates the need for any persons licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic or podiatry to be separately licensed to practice acupuncture, but requires the Board of Medicine by regulation to develop appropriate education, training and practice guidelines for such practitioners. Foreign speaking acupuncturists who speak the language of a majority of their clients will be exempt from the Test of Spoken English and Test of English as a Foreign Language. At this time, such foreign speaking acupuncturists cannot obtain licensure in Virginia.

Patron - Brink

P HB1341

Powers and duties of the Board of Pharmacy. Defines "electronic transmission prescription" and "facsimile prescription" and provides that such prescriptions, which meet standards set by the Board, shall be valid original prescriptions.

Patron - Byron

P HB1367

Health care decisions. Requires, in those instances in which a physician determines the terms of an advance directive of a qualified patient or the treatment decision of a person designated to make the decision on the treatment to be medically or ethically inappropriate, that the physician make reasonable effort to inform the patient or the patient's designated decision-maker of such determination and the reasons for the determination. If the conflict remains unresolved, the physician must make a reasonable effort to transfer the patient to another physician who is willing to comply with the terms of the advance directive. The physician must provide the patient or his authorized decision-maker a reasonable time of not less than 14 days to effect such transfer and must continue to provide, during this period, any life-sustaining care to the patient which is reasonably available to him, as requested by the patient or his designated decision-maker; however, the physician is not required to provide treatment that he is physically or legally unable to provide or treatment that he is physically or legally unable to provide without denying the same treatment to another patient. "Life-sustaining care" is defined as "any ongoing medical treatment that utilizes mechanical or other artificial means to sustain, restore or supplant a spontaneous vital function, including hydration, nutrition, maintenance medication, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation."

Patron - Griffith

P HB1391

Professional use of prescriptions. Provides an exception from the Drug Control Act for persons who administer drugs to students in Virginia public schools in accordance with a physician's instructions pertaining to dosage, frequency, and manner of administration and with written authorization of a parent, and in accordance with school board regulations relating to training, security, and record keeping. Training for such persons must be accomplished through a program approved by the local school boards, in consultation with the local departments of health.

Patron - McDonnell

P HB1427

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; certified interior designers. Repeals the current provision allowing the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects ("the Board"), to waive the examination requirement for certain applicants applying for certification as an interior designer who made application on or before July 1, 1995. The Board may continue to accept satisfactory evidence of licensing or certification in another state or country in lieu of an examination.

Patron - O'Brien

P HB1437

Health professions; pharmacy. Expands the definition of a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship to mean that the practitioner, prior to prescribing a drug, has obtained or has access to a readily available medical and drug history, communicated the benefits and risks of the drug being prescribed, performed an appropriate examination of the patient, and initiated additional interventions and follow-up, if needed. The bill also prohibits out-of-state pharmacists from dispensing any drugs to patients in Virginia that do not result from a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship. Further, no prescription is to be filled by such pharmacists unless there is a bona fide practitioner-patient-pharmacist relationship and a prescription not issued in the usual course of treatment or for authorized research is not valid prescription. Nonresident pharmacies must aver that their pharmacists do not knowingly fill or dispense a prescription for a patient in Virginia in violation of these requirements. These provisions are recommendations by the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health Professions in their study of the sale of drugs via the Internet.

Patron - O'Brien

P HB1469

Health professions; Board of Physical Therapy. Establishes a Board of Physical Therapy separate from the Board of Medicine and transfers the powers and duties to the new board. The bill also includes licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants under the definitions for professional service under professional corporations and limited liability corporations in Title 13.1. Physical therapy continues to be practiced under the referral and direction of a licensed doctor of medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry, or dental surgery. A physical therapist assistant acts under the direction and control of a physical therapist and the patient's physician. The bill contains technical amendments.

Patron - Hamilton

P HB1477

Renal dialysis treatment. Permits unlicensed persons, designated as dialysis care technicians, to administer specified medications for renal dialysis treatment under the supervision of a licensed physician or nurse. The bill defines a dialysis care technician as an unlicensed individual who, under the supervision of a licensed practitioner of medicine or a registered nurse, assists in the care of patients undergoing renal dialysis centers in Medicare-certified renal dialysis facilities. The dialysis care technician must demonstrate competency by completing an approved training program. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.

Patron - Hall

P SB89

Foreign subpoena in lawyer disciplinary proceedings. Facilitates the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents in interstate disciplinary investigations. This subpoena power will be recognized only when requested by those jurisdictions which grant Virginia's subpoenas the same privilege for disciplinary proceedings in Virginia. Identical to HB 427.

Patron - Edwards

P SB295

Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers. Makes technical changes in the powers and duties of the Board and adds provisions simplifying the process for notifying the Board regarding use of a temporary manager. The bill also requires those providing cremation services to register with the Board and provides the Board with the authority to adopt procedures for the registration process. This change is necessary as the result of recent changes in statute requiring crematories to register with the Board rather than the Health Department.

Patron - Houck

P SB386

Health professions; exemption from licensure. Exempts from state licensure any psychologist duly licensed in another state or the District of Columbia when testifying as a treating psychologist or who is employed as an expert for the purpose of possibly testifying as an expert witness.

Patron - Mims

P SB434

Health professions; data required. Changes the reference in the reporting requirements for podiatrists to the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association to correct an inaccurate reference. This board is the body analogous to the American Board of Medical Specialties and is responsible for approving specialty board certifications.

Patron - Reynolds

P SB488

Health; nursing workforce information. Requires the Board of Nursing, with such funds as are appropriated, to collect certain information about the nursing workforce in the Commonwealth, update the information biennially, and make such nonidentifying information available to interested parties. The information to be collected will include, but not be limited to: demographic data, level of education, employment status, employment settings, geographic locations, type of nursing position or area of specialty, and number of hours per week worked. The Board must promulgate emergency regulations to implement this provision which will include such items as the number and types of data elements to be collected and confidentiality protections.

Patron - Lambert

P SB494

Health professions; occupational therapists. Adds language to the licensure requirements for occupational therapists to ensure that unlicensed persons do not practice occupational therapy under another job title. The bill also requires that a graduate of an accredited program may practice until he has taken and passed the examination required by the Board but must use the title "Occupational Therapist, License Applicant" or "OTL-Applicant" for disclosure to patients of his status. Previously, applicants were allowed to use the fully accredited licensing title prior to taking and passing the exam.

Patron - Edwards

P SB531

Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects; landscape architecture. Provides that in order to use the title "landscape architect" a person must be certified by the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects. The bill provides for a waiver of the certification examination under certain circumstances.

Patron - Watkins

P SB565

Practitioner Self-Referral Act. Amends the Practitioner Self-Referral Act to make its provisions applicable to health care providers who refer patients for care in any adult care residence in which they have a financial interest. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.

Patron - Martin

P SB677

Health care decisions. Requires, in those instances in which a physician determines the terms of an advance directive of a qualified patient or the treatment decision of a person designated to make the decision on the treatment to be medically or ethically inappropriate, that the physician make reasonable effort to inform the patient or the patient's designated decision-maker of such determination and the reasons for the determination. If the conflict remains unresolved, the physician must make a reasonable effort to transfer the patient to another physician who is willing to comply with the terms of the advance directive. The physician must provide the patient or his authorized decision-maker a reasonable time of not less than 14 days to effect such transfer and must continue to provide, during this period, any life-sustaining care to the patient which is reasonably available to him, as requested by the patient or his designated decision-maker; however, the physician is not required to provide treatment that the physician is physically or legally unable to provide or treatment that he is physically or legally unable to provide without denying the same treatment to another patient. "Life-sustaining care" is defined as "any ongoing medical treatment that utilizes mechanical or other artificial means to sustain, restore or supplant a spontaneous vital function, including hydration, nutrition, maintenance medication, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation."

Patron - Forbes

P SB679

Health professions; pharmacy. Defines radiopharmaceutical as "any drug that exhibits spontaneous disintegration of unstable nuclei with the emission of nuclear particles or photons" (with certain exceptions) and establishes precise requirements for dispensing radiopharmaceuticals in terms of the containers, the prescription data, and physician and patient specifications. Also defines a nuclear medicine technologist and provides a definition for scope of duties under a qualified nuclear pharmacist.

Patron - Forbes

P SB683

Health professions; physician assistants. Authorizes the delegation and supervision of initial and ongoing evaluation and treatment of hospital patients, including emergency department patients, to physician assistants when performed under the direction, supervision and control of an appropriate licensee. The physician assistants, when practicing in a hospital, must report acute or significant findings or changes in a patient's clinical status to the supervising physician as soon as circumstances require and record these findings in the records. A patient with a life-threatening injury or illness must be transferred to a supervising physician. The supervising physician must review, prior to the patient's discharge, the services rendered to the patient by a physician assistant in a hospital's emergency department. A physician assistant practicing in an emergency department must be under the supervision of a physician who is present within the facility. Physician assistants practicing in hospitals must have signed protocols with the physician responsible for the patient, pursuant to regulations of the Board of Medicine.

Patron - Forbes

P SB708

Temporary licensure of foreign licensed physicians. Increases to two years the period for which physicians licensed in foreign countries may receive a temporary nonrenewable license to practice while attending an advanced training program in an institute for post graduate health science operated collaboratively by a health care system, having hospitals and health care facilities with residency and training programs, and a public institution of higher education. These physicians can only practice in the hospitals and outpatient clinics of the collaborating health care system during the time they are in the training program. Current law provides for temporary licensure of these physicians for only six months.

Patron - Barry

P SB734

Health Care Decisions Act. Defines the health care decisions that an "agent" may make for a declarant under an advance directive to include visitation decisions, subject to physician orders and policies of the institution to which the declarant is admitted.

Patron - Edwards

F Failed

F HB359

Penalty for practicing law without authority. Increases the penalty for practicing law without authority to a Class 6 felony for a second or subsequent offense. The first offense penalty is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Patron - Almand

F HB884

Restricted volunteer licenses for dentists, dental hygienists, and optometrists. Authorizes the Boards of Dentistry and Optometry to issue restricted volunteer licenses to dentists, dental hygienists, and optometrists who hold corresponding licenses in good standing in another state and are only practicing under the sponsorship of a nonprofit organization that arranges for the free, short-term, voluntary provision of health care services in underserved areas of Virginia. These practitioners would not be required to take a jurisprudence examination, would not be authorized to receive any payments, and could receive a restricted volunteer license spanning only the limited time necessary to participate in a single or a series of free, short-term, voluntary health care services provided on an intermittent basis at health care fairs or health care events arranged by a nonprofit sponsoring organization. At least one out-of-state nonprofit organization would like to arrange events lasting no more than a day or two for the delivery of dental and optometric services to people living in remote, underserved areas of Virginia where few, if any, dentists and optometrists practice; however, no provision for allowing out-of-state dentists, dental hygienists or optometrists to practice legally in Virginia under these circumstances presently exists.

Patron - Phillips

F HB1068

Health professions; optometry. Allows optometrists to practice their profession as a lessee of a mercantile or commercial establishment. Prohibits the practice of optometry as an employee of a mercantile or commercial establishment with no exemptions.

Patron - Ware

F HB1074

Licensed health care practitioners required to display license. Requires any person who is licensed to practice medicine, osteopathic medicine, chiropractic, podiatry, physical therapy, or as a physical therapist's, physician's or podiatrist's assistant to display his license in the patient waiting area of each office in which he provides individual patient care.

Patron - Melvin

F HB1079

Abortion; informed consent. Requires the Board of Medicine to promulgate regulations ensuring that women seeking abortions are fully informed and that consent is voluntarily given. Further, all physicians performing abortions must wait 24 hours after obtaining consent to perform the abortion and all persons providing abortion services must have in effect liability insurance covering the services being provided or must have hospital privileges. A third enactment clause requires the Board of Medicine to promulgate emergency regulations.

Patron - Marshall

F HB1470

Health professions and health; licensure of midwives. Requires persons practicing midwifery, which is the assessment and care of a pregnant woman and her newborn during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period outside of the hospital, to be licensed. Applicants must meet educational, specialized training, and competency standards set by the Board of Health Professions, with advice from the Advisory Council on Midwifery established in this bill, and must have a written protocol with an actively practicing physician who has hospital privileges and is experienced in providing labor and delivery care. In addition, midwives must obtain the informed, written consent of any pregnant woman seeking midwife care. The consent form, which must be approved by the Board of Health Professions, shall include information about the midwife's training, an explanation of the arrangements for physician backup, the midwife's level of malpractice or liability insurance, and a description of the patient's right to file complaints with the Board and the procedures for doing so. The Board of Health Professions shall promulgate regulations which, when implemented, will supersede current provisions in the Code for midwives, but the Board of Health will administer the licensing examination and issue licenses to midwives. The bill contains technical amendments.

Patron - Hamilton

C Carried Over

C HB496

Cemetery Board. Prohibits cemetery companies from all at-need and preneed solicitations using in-person communication. Current law prohibits in-person communications that are false, misleading or contrary to the stated purpose.

Patron - Deeds

C HB921

Health professions; dentistry. Clarifies current law to ensure that any person who has been licensed to practice dentistry in any other country may submit an application to the Board of Dentistry to practice in Virginia provided that they meet educational and practice criteria equal to the minimum standards for dentists practicing in the Commonwealth. The Board by regulation shall determine the approved programs, schools and foreign licensure standards that meet the Commonwealth's requirements for licensure.

Patron - Dickinson

C HB962

School board volunteers; administering injections in emergencies. Directs the Board of Nursing to promulgate guidelines for training school board volunteers in the identification of medical emergencies to be treated by injection and in the administration of medication by injection to students in these emergency situations. The measure also excludes these school board volunteers, when acting in accordance with the guidelines, from the practice of nursing.

Patron - Thomas

C HB1031

Real Estate Appraisers Board; exemption from licensure. Provides that an individual who is not a licensed residential real estate appraiser, a certified residential real estate appraiser, or a certified general real estate appraiser, may make an evaluation for compensation and may testify as an expert witness in any legal proceeding if the court finds such individual qualified as an expert witness. The bill also contains technical amendments.

Patron - Cranwell

C HB1035

Practice of dentistry in underserved areas. Requires (i) the Board of Health to establish criteria to identify dentally underserved areas in Virginia in addition to medically underserved areas; (ii) the definition of "primary care resources" to include physicians, nurses, dentists, and dental hygienists; (iii) the Board of Dentistry to issue a temporary license to a dentist who is otherwise qualified but not licensed to practice dentistry in Virginia through examination; and (iv) establishes temporary licensure conditions, i.e., the applicant has not failed an examination for licensure in Virginia, the applicant will practice as a clinician in or, in the case of dentally underserved areas identified by the Board of Health, under contract as a primary care resource with the Virginia Department of Health or the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. The license will be valid for two years or as otherwise specified in the contract and certified to the secretary of the Board of Dentistry by the Commissioner of Health or the Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services.

Patron - Bloxom

C SB273

Professions and occupations; pawnbrokers. Requires pawnbrokers to keep a photograph or photographs of the person pawning or pledging goods taken together with the items being pawned or pledged. The photograph will be kept with the other written records currently required.

Patron - Howell