Va. Code Ann. tit. 54.1, ch. 24

in effect

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400 General powers and duties of health regulatory boards

The general powers and duties of health regulatory boards shall be: 1. To establish the qualifications for registration, certification, licensure, permit, or the issuance of a multistate licensure privilege in accordance with the applicable law that are necessary to ensure competence and integrity to engage in the regulated professions. 2. To examine or cause to be examined applicants for certification, licensure, or registration. Unless otherwise required by law, examinations shall be administered in writing or shall be a demonstration of manual skills. 3. To register, certify, license, or issue a multistate licensure privilege to qualified applicants as practitioners of the particular profession or professions regulated by such board. 4. To establish schedules for renewals of registration, certification, licensure, permit, and the issuance of a multistate licensure privilege. 5. To levy and collect fees for application processing, examination, registration, certification, permitting, or licensure or the issuance of a multistate licensure privilege and renewal that are sufficient to cover all expenses for the administration and operation of the Department of Health Professions and the health regulatory boards. 6. To promulgate regulations in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) that are reasonable and necessary to administer effectively the regulatory system, which shall include provisions for the satisfaction of board-required continuing education for individuals registered, certified, licensed, or issued a multistate licensure privilege by a health regulatory board through delivery of health care services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those health services. Such regulations shall not conflict with the purposes and intent of this chapter or of Chapter 1 (§ 54.1-100 et seq.) and Chapter 25 (§ 54.1-2500 et seq.). 7. To revoke, suspend, restrict, or refuse to issue or renew a registration, certificate, license, permit, or multistate licensure privilege that such board has authority to issue for causes enumerated in applicable law and regulations. 8. To appoint designees from their membership or immediate staff to coordinate with the Director and the Health Practitioners' Monitoring Program Committee and to implement, as is necessary, the provisions of Chapter 25.1 (§ 54.1-2515 et seq.). Each health regulatory board shall appoint one such designee. 9. To take appropriate disciplinary action for violations of applicable law and regulations and to accept, in their discretion, the surrender of a license, certificate, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege in lieu of disciplinary action. 10. To appoint a special conference committee, composed of not less than two members of a health regulatory board or, when required for special conference committees of the Board of Medicine, not less than two members of the Board and one member of the relevant advisory board, or, when required for special conference committees of the Board of Nursing, not less than one member of the Board and one member of the relevant advisory board, to act in accordance with § 2.2-4019 upon receipt of information that a practitioner or permit holder of the appropriate board may be subject to disciplinary action or to consider an application for a license, certification, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege in nursing. The special conference committee may (i) exonerate; (ii) reinstate; (iii) place the practitioner or permit holder on probation with such terms as it may deem appropriate; (iv) reprimand; (v) modify a previous order; (vi) impose a monetary penalty pursuant to § 54.1-2401 , (vii) deny or grant an application for licensure, certification, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege; and (viii) issue a restricted license, certification, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege subject to terms and conditions. The order of the special conference committee shall become final 30 days after service of the order unless a written request to the board for a hearing is received within such time. If service of the decision to a party is accomplished by mail, three days shall be added to the 30-day period. Upon receiving a timely written request for a hearing, the board or a panel of the board shall then proceed with a hearing as provided in § 2.2-4020 , and the action of the committee shall be vacated. This subdivision shall not be construed to limit the authority of a board to delegate to an appropriately qualified agency subordinate, as defined in § 2.2-4001 , the authority to conduct informal fact-finding proceedings in accordance with § 2.2-4019 . The recommendation of such subordinate may be considered by a panel consisting of at least five board members, or, if a quorum of the board is less than five members, consisting of a quorum of the members, convened for the purpose of issuing a case decision. Criteria for the appointment of an agency subordinate shall be set forth in regulations adopted by the board. 11. To convene, at their discretion, a panel consisting of at least five board members or, if a quorum of the board is less than five members, consisting of a quorum of the members to conduct formal proceedings pursuant to § 2.2-4020 , decide the case, and issue a final agency case decision. Any decision rendered by majority vote of such panel shall have the same effect as if made by the full board and shall be subject to court review in accordance with the Administrative Process Act. No member who participates in an informal proceeding conducted in accordance with § 2.2-4019 shall serve on a panel conducting formal proceedings pursuant to § 2.2-4020 to consider the same matter. 12. To issue inactive licenses or certificates and promulgate regulations to carry out such purpose. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the qualifications, renewal fees, and conditions for reactivation of licenses or certificates. 13. To meet by telephone conference call to consider settlement proposals in matters pending before special conference committees convened pursuant to this section, or matters referred for formal proceedings pursuant to § 2.2-4020 to a health regulatory board or a panel of the board or to consider modifications of previously issued board orders when such considerations have been requested by either of the parties. 14. To request and accept a confidential consent agreement, in lieu of disciplinary action, from a certified, registered, or licensed practitioner; a facility holding a license, certification, registration, or permit; or a person holding a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing. A confidential consent agreement shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of § 54.1-2400.2 and shall not be disclosed by a practitioner or facility. A confidential consent agreement shall include findings of fact and may include an admission or a finding of a violation. A confidential consent agreement shall not be considered either a notice or order of any health regulatory board, but it may be considered by a board in future disciplinary proceedings. A confidential consent agreement shall be entered into only in cases involving minor misconduct where there is little or no injury to a patient or the public and little likelihood of repetition by the practitioner or facility. A board shall not enter into a confidential consent agreement if there is probable cause to believe the practitioner or facility has (i) demonstrated gross negligence or intentional misconduct in the care of patients or (ii) conducted his practice in such a manner as to be a danger to the health and welfare of his patients or the public. A certified, registered, or licensed practitioner, a facility holding a license, certification, registration, or permit, or a person holding a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing who has entered into two confidential consent agreements involving a standard of care violation within the 10-year period immediately preceding a board's receipt of the most recent report or complaint being considered shall receive public discipline for any subsequent violation within the 10-year period unless the board finds there are sufficient facts and circumstances to rebut the presumption that the disciplinary action be made public. 15. When a board has probable cause to believe a practitioner is unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients because of excessive use of alcohol or drugs or physical or mental illness, the board, after preliminary investigation by an informal fact-finding proceeding, may direct that the practitioner submit to a mental or physical examination. Failure to submit to the examination shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action. Any practitioner affected by this subsection shall be afforded reasonable opportunity to demonstrate that he is competent to practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients. For the purposes of this subdivision, "practitioner" shall include any person holding a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing. 16. To promulgate regulations establishing a licensure by endorsement pathway for qualified applicants as practitioners of the particular profession or professions regulated by such health regulatory board. Each such health regulatory board's initial adoption of regulations shall be exempt from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.), except that the enacting health regulatory board shall provide an opportunity for public comment on the regulations prior to adoption of such regulations. 1988, c. 765; 1992, cc. 659, 890; 1997, cc. 439 , 564 ; 1998, c. 469 ; 2002, cc. 455 , 698 ; 2003, cc. 753 , 762 ; 2004, cc. 49 , 64 ; 2009, cc. 472 , 534 ; 2010, c. 414 ; 2014, c. 426 ; 2016, c. 82 ; 2017, c. 423 ; 2023, c. 191 ; 2025, cc. 341 , 553 , 561 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.01 Certain definition

As used in this subtitle, "laser surgery" means treatment through revision, destruction, incision or other structural alteration of human tissue using laser technology. Under this definition, the continued use of laser technology solely for nonsurgical purposes of examination and diagnosis shall be permitted for those professions whose licenses permit such use. 1997, c. 569 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.1 Mental health service providers; duty to protect third parties; immunity

A. As used in this section: "Certified substance abuse counselor" means a person certified to provide substance abuse counseling in a state-approved public or private substance abuse program or facility. "Client" or "patient" means any person who is voluntarily or involuntarily receiving mental health services or substance abuse services from any mental health service provider. "Clinical psychologist" means a person who practices clinical psychology as defined in § 54.1-3600 . "Clinical social worker" means a person who practices social work as defined in § 54.1-3700 . "Licensed practical nurse" means a person licensed to practice practical nursing as defined in § 54.1-3000 . "Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner" means any person licensed to engage in the practice of substance abuse treatment as defined in § 54.1-3500 . "Marriage and family therapist" means a person licensed to engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy as defined in § 54.1-3500 . "Mental health professional" means a person who by education and experience is professionally qualified and licensed in Virginia to provide counseling interventions designed to facilitate an individual's achievement of human development goals and remediate mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders and associated distresses which interfere with mental health and development. "Mental health service provider" or "provider" refers to any of the following: (i) a person who provides professional services as a certified substance abuse counselor, clinical psychologist, clinical social worker, licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner, licensed practical nurse, marriage and family therapist, mental health professional, physician, physician assistant, professional counselor, psychologist, qualified mental health professional, registered nurse, registered peer recovery specialist, school psychologist, or social worker; (ii) a professional corporation, all of whose shareholders or members are so licensed; or (iii) a partnership, all of whose partners are so licensed. "Professional counselor" means a person who practices counseling as defined in § 54.1-3500 . "Psychologist" means a person who practices psychology as defined in § 54.1-3600 . "Qualified mental health professional" has the same meaning as provided in § 54.1-3500 . "Registered nurse" means a person licensed to practice professional nursing as defined in § 54.1-3000 . "Registered peer recovery specialist" means a person who by education and experience is professionally qualified and registered by the Board of Counseling to provide collaborative services to assist individuals in achieving sustained recovery from the effects of addiction or mental illness, or both. A registered peer recovery specialist shall provide such services as an employee or independent contractor of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a provider licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a practitioner licensed by or holding a permit issued from the Department of Health Professions, or a facility licensed by the Department of Health. "School psychologist" means a person who practices school psychology as defined in § 54.1-3600 . "Social worker" means a person who practices social work as defined in § 54.1-3700 . B. A mental health service provider has a duty to take precautions to protect third parties from violent behavior or other serious harm only when the client has orally, in writing, or via sign language, communicated to the provider a specific and immediate threat to cause serious bodily injury or death to an identified or readily identifiable person or persons, if the provider reasonably believes, or should believe according to the standards of his profession, that the client has the intent and ability to carry out that threat immediately or imminently. If the third party is a child, in addition to taking precautions to protect the child from the behaviors in the above types of threats, the provider also has a duty to take precautions to protect the child if the client threatens to engage in behaviors that would constitute physical abuse or sexual abuse as defined in § 18.2-67.10 . The duty to protect does not attach unless the threat has been communicated to the provider by the threatening client while the provider is engaged in his professional duties. C. The duty set forth in subsection B is discharged by a mental health service provider who takes one or more of the following actions: 1. Seeks involuntary admission of the client under Article 16 (§ 16.1-335 et seq.) of Chapter 11 of Title 16.1 or Chapter 8 (§ 37.2-800 et seq.) of Title 37.2. 2. Makes reasonable attempts to warn the potential victims or the parent or guardian of the potential victim if the potential victim is under the age of 18. 3. Makes reasonable efforts to notify a law-enforcement official having jurisdiction in the client's or potential victim's place of residence or place of work, or place of work of the parent or guardian if the potential victim is under age 18, or both. 4. Takes steps reasonably available to the provider to prevent the client from using physical violence or other means of harm to others until the appropriate law-enforcement agency can be summoned and takes custody of the client. 5. Provides therapy or counseling to the client or patient in the session in which the threat has been communicated until the mental health service provider reasonably believes that the client no longer has the intent or the ability to carry out the threat. 6. In the case of a registered peer recovery specialist, or a qualified mental health professional who is not otherwise licensed by a health regulatory board at the Department of Health Professions, reports immediately to a licensed mental health service provider to take one or more of the actions set forth in this subsection. D. A mental health service provider shall not be held civilly liable to any person for: 1. Breaching confidentiality with the limited purpose of protecting third parties by communicating the threats described in subsection B made by his clients to potential third party victims or law-enforcement agencies or by taking any of the actions specified in subsection C. 2. Failing to predict, in the absence of a threat described in subsection B, that the client would cause the third party serious physical harm. 3. Failing to take precautions other than those enumerated in subsection C to protect a potential third party victim from the client's violent behavior. 1994, c. 958 ; 1997, c. 901 ; 2005, c. 716 ; 2010, cc. 778 , 825 ; 2017, cc. 61 , 417 , 418 , 426 ; 2018, cc. 171 , 803 ; 2019, cc. 101 , 217 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.01:1 Surgery defined; who may perform surgery

A. For the purposes of this subtitle, except as used in Chapter 38 (§ 54.1-3800 et seq.) related to veterinary medicine, "surgery" means the structural alteration of the human body by the incision or cutting into of tissue for the purpose of diagnostic or therapeutic treatment of conditions or disease processes by any instrument causing localized alteration or transposition of live human tissue, but does not include the following: procedures for the removal of superficial foreign bodies from the human body, punctures, injections, dry needling, acupuncture, or removal of dead tissue. For the purposes of this section, incision shall not mean the scraping or brushing of live tissue. B. No person shall perform surgery unless he is (i) licensed by the Board of Medicine as a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry; (ii) licensed by the Board of Dentistry as a doctor of dentistry; (iii) jointly licensed by the Boards of Medicine and Nursing as an advanced practice registered nurse; (iv) a physician assistant acting under the supervision of a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry; (v) a licensed midwife in the performance of episiotomies during childbirth; (vi) licensed by the Board of Optometry as an optometrist and certified to perform laser surgery pursuant to § 54.1-3225 ; or (vii) acting pursuant to the orders and under the appropriate supervision of a licensed doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, or dentistry. C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict, limit, change, or expand the scope of practice in effect on January 1, 2012, of any profession licensed by any of the health regulatory boards within the Department of Health Professions. 2012, cc. 15 , 124 ; 2022, cc. 16 , 17 ; 2023, c. 183 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.01:2 Ophthalmic prescription defined; who may provide ophthalmic prescriptions

A. As used in this section: "Contact lens" means any lens that is placed directly on the surface of the eye, whether or not the lens is intended to correct a visual defect, including any cosmetic, therapeutic, or corrective contact lens. "Ophthalmic prescription" means a handwritten or electronic order of a provider that includes (i) in the case of contact lenses, all information required by the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 7601 et seq., (ii) in the case of prescription eyeglasses, all information required by the Ophthalmic Practice Rule, also known as the Eyeglass Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 456, and (iii) necessary and appropriate information for the dispensing of prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses for a patient, including the provider's name, physical address at which the provider practices, and telephone number. "Provider" means an ophthalmologist licensed by the Board of Medicine pursuant to Chapter 29 (§ 54.1-2900 et seq.) or an optometrist licensed by the Board of Optometry pursuant to Chapter 32 (§ 54.1-3200 et seq.). B. For the purpose of a provider prescribing spectacles, eyeglasses, lenses, or contact lenses to a patient, a provider shall establish a bona fide provider-patient relationship by an examination (i) in person, (ii) through face-to-face interactive, two-way, real-time communication, or (iii) store-and-forward technologies when all of the following conditions are met: (a) the provider obtains an updated medical history at the time of prescribing; (b) the provider makes a diagnosis at the time of prescribing; (c) the provider conforms to the standard of care expected of in-person care as appropriate to the patient's age and presenting condition, including when the standard of care requires the use of diagnostic testing and performance of a physical examination, which may be carried out through the use of peripheral devices appropriate to the patient's condition; (d) the ophthalmic prescription is not determined solely by use of an online questionnaire; (e) the provider is actively licensed in the Commonwealth and authorized to prescribe; and (f) upon request, the prescriber provides patient records in a timely manner in accordance with the provisions of § 32.1-127.1:03 and all other state and federal laws and regulations. C. The requirements of this section shall not apply to (i) the sale of eyeglasses not designed to correct or enhance vision by addressing the visual needs of the individual wearer and that may be known as over-the-counter eyeglasses or readers or (ii) a licensed optician providing services in accordance with § 54.1-1509 . D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to ophthalmic prescriptions written prior to July 1, 2017. 2017, cc. 169 , 184 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.2 Confidentiality of information obtained during an investigation or disciplinary proceeding; penalty

A. Any reports, information or records received and maintained by the Department of Health Professions or any health regulatory board in connection with possible disciplinary proceedings, including any material received or developed by a board during an investigation or proceeding, shall be strictly confidential. The Department of Health Professions or a board may only disclose such confidential information: 1. In a disciplinary proceeding before a board or in any subsequent trial or appeal of an action or order, or to the respondent in entering into a confidential consent agreement under § 54.1-2400 ; 2. To regulatory authorities concerned with granting, limiting or denying licenses, certificates or registrations to practice a health profession, including the coordinated licensure information system as defined in § 54.1-3040.2 and the data system as set forth in § 54.1-3492 ; 3. To the Virginia Department of Education or the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, if such information relates to nursing or nurse aide education programs regulated by the Board of Nursing; 4. To hospital committees concerned with granting, limiting or denying hospital privileges if a final determination regarding a violation has been made; 5. Pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction for good cause arising from extraordinary circumstances being shown; 6. To qualified personnel for bona fide research or educational purposes, if personally identifiable information relating to any person is first deleted. Such release shall be made pursuant to a written agreement to ensure compliance with this section; or 7. To the Health Practitioners' Monitoring Program within the Department of Health Professions in connection with health practitioners who apply to or participate in the Program. B. In no event shall confidential information received, maintained or developed by the Department of Health Professions or any board, or disclosed by the Department of Health Professions or a board to others, pursuant to this section, be available for discovery or court subpoena or introduced into evidence in any civil action. This section shall not, however, be construed to inhibit an investigation or prosecution under Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2. C. Any claim of a physician-patient or practitioner-patient privilege shall not prevail in any investigation or proceeding by any health regulatory board acting within the scope of its authority. The disclosure, however, of any information pursuant to this provision shall not be deemed a waiver of such privilege in any other proceeding. D. This section shall not prohibit the Director of the Department of Health Professions, after consultation with the relevant health regulatory board president or his designee, from disclosing to the Attorney General, or the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth, investigatory information which indicates a possible violation of any provision of criminal law, including the laws relating to the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, prescribing or administration of drugs, other than drugs classified as Schedule VI drugs and devices, by any individual regulated by any health regulatory board. E. This section shall not prohibit the Director of the Department of Health Professions from disclosing matters listed in subdivision A 1, 2, or 3 of § 54.1-2909 ; from making the reports of aggregate information and summaries required by § 54.1-2400.3 ; or from disclosing the information required to be made available to the public pursuant to § 54.1-2910.1 . F. This section shall not prohibit the Director of the Department of Health Professions, following consultation with the relevant health regulatory board president or his designee, from disclosing information about a suspected violation of state or federal law or regulation to other agencies within the Health and Human Resources Secretariat or to state or federal law-enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over the suspected violation or requesting an inspection or investigation of a licensee by such state or federal agency when the Director has reason to believe that a possible violation of state or federal law has occurred. Such disclosure shall not exceed the minimum information necessary to permit the state or federal agency having jurisdiction over the suspected violation of state or federal law to conduct an inspection or investigation. Disclosures by the Director pursuant to this subsection shall not be limited to requests for inspections or investigations of licensees. Nothing in this subsection shall require the Director to make any disclosure. Nothing in this section shall permit any agency to which the Director makes a disclosure pursuant to this section to re-disclose any information, reports, records, or materials received from the Department. G. Whenever a complaint or report has been filed about a person licensed, certified, or registered by a health regulatory board, the source and the subject of a complaint or report shall be provided information about the investigative and disciplinary procedures at the Department of Health Professions. Prior to interviewing a licensee who is the subject of a complaint or report, or at the time that the licensee is first notified in writing of the complaint or report, whichever shall occur first, the licensee shall be provided with a copy of the complaint or report and any records or supporting documentation, unless such provision would materially obstruct a criminal or regulatory investigation. If the relevant board concludes that a disciplinary proceeding will not be instituted, the board may send an advisory letter to the person who was the subject of the complaint or report. The relevant board may also inform the source of the complaint or report (i) that an investigation has been conducted, (ii) that the matter was concluded without a disciplinary proceeding, (iii) of the process the board followed in making its determination, and (iv), if appropriate, that an advisory letter from the board has been communicated to the person who was the subject of the complaint or report. In providing such information, the board shall inform the source of the complaint or report that he is subject to the requirements of this section relating to confidentiality and discovery. H. Orders and notices of the health regulatory boards relating to disciplinary actions, other than confidential exhibits described in subsection K, shall be disclosed. Information on the date and location of any disciplinary proceeding, allegations against the respondent, and the list of statutes and regulations the respondent is alleged to have violated shall be provided to the source of the complaint or report by the relevant board prior to the proceeding. The source shall be notified of the disposition of a disciplinary case. I. This section shall not prohibit investigative staff authorized under § 54.1-2506 or investigative staff of any other agency to which disclosure of information about a suspected violation of state or federal law or regulation is authorized by subsection F from interviewing fact witnesses, disclosing to fact witnesses the identity of the subject of the complaint or report, or reviewing with fact witnesses any portion of records or other supporting documentation necessary to refresh the fact witnesses' recollection. J. Any person found guilty of the unlawful disclosure of confidential information possessed by a health regulatory board shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. K. In disciplinary actions in which a practitioner is or may be unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients and the public because of a mental or physical disability, a health regulatory board shall consider whether to disclose and may decide not to disclose in its notice or order the practitioner's health records, as defined in § 32.1-127.1:03 , or his health services, as defined in § 32.1-127.1:03 . Such information may be considered by the relevant board in a closed hearing in accordance with subdivision A 16 of § 2.2-3711 and included in a confidential exhibit to a notice or order. The public notice or order shall identify, if known, the practitioner's mental or physical disability that is the basis for its determination. In the event that the relevant board, in its discretion, determines that this subsection should apply, information contained in the confidential exhibit shall remain part of the confidential record before the relevant board and is subject to court review under the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) and to release in accordance with this section. 1997, c. 698 ; 1998, c. 744 ; 1999, c. 888 ; 2003, cc. 753 , 762 ; 2004, c. 49 ; 2006, cc. 155 , 184 ; 2007, c. 395 ; 2009, cc. 342 , 472 ; 2015, c. 114 ; 2016, c. 222 ; 2017, c. 616 ; 2019, cc. 300 , 418 , 663 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.02 Information concerning health professionals; posting of addresses on the Internet; providing personal information under certain circumstances prohibited; collection of address information from health professionals

A. In order to protect the privacy and security of health professionals, the posting of addresses to the on-line licensure lookup or any successor in interest thereof shall only disclose the city or county provided to the Department and shall not include any street, rural delivery route, or post office address. However, the street address of facilities regulated by the Boards of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine shall be posted. B. The Department shall collect an official address of record from each health professional licensed, registered, or certified by a health regulatory board within the Department, to be used by the Department and relevant health regulatory boards for agency purposes, including workforce planning and emergency contact pursuant to § 54.1-2506.1 . Such official address of record shall otherwise remain confidential, shall not be provided to any private entity for resale to another private entity or to the public, and shall be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). C. In addition, the Department shall provide an opportunity for the health professional to provide a second address, for the purpose of public dissemination. Health professionals may choose to provide a work address, a post office box, or a home address as the public address. In collecting such public address information, the Department shall notify health professionals that this address may be publicly disclosed, and is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B, if a health professional does not provide a second address, his official address of record shall also be used as the public address for the purpose of public dissemination. D. The Department shall develop a procedure for health professionals to update their address information at regular intervals, and may charge a fee sufficient to cover the costs for such updates. 2003, c. 310 ; 2009, c. 687 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.03 Health regulatory boards to report information concerning health professionals to the Department of Health; Eligible Health Care Provider Reserve Directory

Every health regulatory board within the Department of Health Professions shall report information prescribed in subsection B of § 32.1-23.3 for persons licensed, registered, or certified or previously licensed, registered, or certified by the health regulatory board to the Department of Health for inclusion in the Eligible Health Care Provider Reserve Directory. However, a health regulatory board shall not report information for any such person who has notified the health regulatory board in writing that he does not want his information included in the Eligible Health Care Provider Reserve Directory. 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 530 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.3 Disciplinary actions to be reported

In addition to the information required by § 54.1-114 , the Director shall include in the Department's biennial report for each of the health regulatory boards the number of reports or complaints of misconduct received and the investigations, charges, findings, and sanctions resulting therefrom. The report shall reflect the categories of allegations, kinds of complaints and the rates of disciplinary activity for the various regulated professions and the health regulatory boards having jurisdiction; summaries explaining the reported data shall be included with the report. Further, the report shall specify the number of cases for each profession regulated by a health regulatory board by category of violation, including, but not limited to, standard of care violations, in which (i) a sanction was imposed; (ii) a confidential consent agreement was accepted; and (iii) more than two confidential consent agreements involving a standard of care violation were accepted by the relevant board for the same practitioner in a 10-year period. The information shall be reported only in the aggregate without reference to any individual's name or identifying particulars. In those portions of this report relating to the Board of Medicine, the Director shall include a summary of the data required by § 54.1-2910.1 . The Director shall also include in the Department's biennial report for each health regulatory board (i) case processing time standards for resolving disciplinary cases, (ii) an analysis of the percentage of cases resolved during the last two fiscal years that did not meet such standards, (iii) a six-year trend analysis of the time required to process, investigate, and adjudicate cases, and (iv) a detailed reporting of staffing levels for the six-year period for each job classification that supports the disciplinary process. However, the initial biennial report shall require a four-year trend analysis of the time required to process, investigate, and adjudicate cases and a detailed reporting of staffing levels for the four-year period for each job classification that supports the disciplinary process. 1997, c. 698 ; 1998, c. 744 ; 2003, cc. 753 , 762 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.4 Mental health service providers duty to inform; immunity; civil penalty

A. Any mental health service provider, as defined in § 54.1-2400.1 , shall, upon learning of evidence that indicates a reasonable probability that another mental health provider is or may be guilty of a violation of standards of conduct as defined in statute or regulation, advise his patient of his right to report such misconduct to the Department of Health Professions, hereinafter referred to as the "Department." B. The mental health service provider shall provide relevant information to the patient, 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 shall 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 service provider who will be the subject of the report, and 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. C. Any mental health service provider informing a patient of his right to file a complaint against a regulated person and providing the information required by this section shall be immune from any civil liability or criminal prosecution resulting therefrom unless such person acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person required to inform a patient of his right to file a complaint against a regulated person pursuant to this section who fails to do so shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100. 2000, c. 578 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.5 Repealed

Repealed by Acts 2018, cc. 170 and 381 , cl. 2.

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.6 Hospitals, other health care institutions, home health and hospice organizations, and assisted living facilities required to report disciplinary actions against and certain disorders of health professionals; immunity from liability; failure to report

A. The chief executive officer and the chief of staff of every hospital or other health care institution in the Commonwealth, the director of every licensed home health or hospice organization, the director of every accredited home health organization exempt from licensure, the administrator of every licensed assisted living facility, and the administrator of every provider licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in the Commonwealth shall report within 30 days, except as provided in subdivisions 1 and 2, to the Director of the Department of Health Professions, or in the case of a director of a home health or hospice organization, to the Office of Licensure and Certification at the Department of Health (the Office), the following information regarding any person (i) licensed, certified, or registered by a health regulatory board or (ii) holding a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing or an applicant for licensure, certification or registration unless exempted under subsection E: 1. Any information of which he may become aware in his official capacity indicating a reasonable belief that such a health professional has been involuntarily admitted as a patient, either in his own institution or any other health care institution, for treatment of substance abuse or a psychiatric illness. The report required by this subdivision shall be made within five days of the date on which the chief executive officer, chief of staff, director, or administrator learns of the health care professional's involuntary admission. 2. Any information of which he may become aware in his official capacity indicating a reasonable belief that such a health professional has been voluntarily admitted as a patient, either at his institution or any other health care institution, for treatment of a substance abuse or psychiatric illness and such substance abuse or psychiatric illness may continue for more than 30 days after admission. A report required by this subdivision shall be made within five days after the 30-day period concludes unless the physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner treating the health professional for substance abuse or psychiatric illness provides written confirmation to the entity required to make such report that the health professional no longer is believed to be a danger to himself, the public, or his patients. 3. Any information of which he may become aware in his official capacity indicating a reasonable belief, after review and, if necessary, an investigation or consultation with the appropriate internal boards or committees authorized to impose disciplinary action on a health professional, that a health professional may have engaged in unethical, fraudulent or unprofessional conduct as defined by the pertinent licensing statutes and regulations. The report required under this subdivision shall be submitted within 30 days of the date that the chief executive officer, chief of staff, director, or administrator determines that such reasonable belief exists. 4. Any disciplinary proceeding begun by the institution, organization, facility, or provider as a result of conduct involving (i) intentional or negligent conduct that causes or is likely to cause injury to a patient or patients, (ii) professional ethics, (iii) professional incompetence, (iv) moral turpitude, or (v) substance abuse. The report required under this subdivision shall be submitted within 30 days of the date of written communication to the health professional notifying him of the initiation of a disciplinary proceeding. 5. Any disciplinary action taken during or at the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings or while under investigation, including but not limited to denial or termination of employment, denial or termination of privileges or restriction of privileges that results from conduct involving (i) intentional or negligent conduct that causes or is likely to cause injury to a patient or patients, (ii) professional ethics, (iii) professional incompetence, (iv) moral turpitude, or (v) substance abuse. The report required under this subdivision shall be submitted within 30 days of the date of written communication to the health professional notifying him of any disciplinary action. 6. The voluntary resignation from the staff of the health care institution, home health or hospice organization, assisted living facility, or provider, or voluntary restriction or expiration of privileges at the institution, organization, facility, or provider, of any health professional while such health professional is under investigation or is the subject of disciplinary proceedings taken or begun by the institution, organization, facility, or provider or a committee thereof for any reason related to possible intentional or negligent conduct that causes or is likely to cause injury to a patient or patients, medical incompetence, unprofessional conduct, moral turpitude, mental or physical impairment, or substance abuse. Any report required by this section shall be in writing directed to the Director of the Department of Health Professions or to the Director of the Office of Licensure and Certification at the Department of Health, shall give the name, address, and date of birth of the person who is the subject of the report and shall fully describe the circumstances surrounding the facts required to be reported. The report shall include the names and contact information of individuals with knowledge about the facts required to be reported and the names and contact information of individuals from whom the hospital or health care institution, organization, facility, or provider sought information to substantiate the facts required to be reported. All relevant medical records shall be attached to the report if patient care or the health professional's health status is at issue. The reporting hospital, health care institution, home health or hospice organization, assisted living facility, or provider shall also provide notice to the Department or the Office that it has submitted a report to the National Practitioner Data Bank under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (42 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq.). The reporting hospital, health care institution, home health or hospice organization, assisted living facility, or provider shall give the health professional who is the subject of the report an opportunity to review the report. The health professional may submit a separate report if he disagrees with the substance of the report. This section shall not be construed to require the hospital, health care institution, home health or hospice organization, assisted living facility, or provider to submit any proceedings, minutes, records, or reports that are privileged under § 8.01-581.17 , except that the provisions of § 8.01-581.17 shall not bar (i) any report required by this section or (ii) any requested medical records that are necessary to investigate unprofessional conduct reported pursuant to this subtitle or unprofessional conduct that should have been reported pursuant to this subtitle. Under no circumstances shall compliance with this section be construed to waive or limit the privilege provided in § 8.01-581.17 . No person or entity shall be obligated to report any matter to the Department or the Office if the person or entity has actual notice that the same matter has already been reported to the Department or the Office. No person or entity shall be obligated to report a health care provider who is participating in a professional program as described in subsection B of § 8.01-581.16 unless there is a reasonable belief that the participant is not competent to continue to practice or is a danger to himself or to the health and welfare of his patients or the public. B. The State Health Commissioner, Commissioner of Social Services, and Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall report to the Department any information of which their agencies may become aware in the course of their duties that a health professional may be guilty of fraudulent, unethical, or unprofessional conduct as defined by the pertinent licensing statutes and regulations. However, the State Health Commissioner shall not be required to report information reported to the Director of the Office of Licensure and Certification pursuant to this section to the Department of Health Professions. C. Any person making a report by this section, providing information pursuant to an investigation or testifying in a judicial or administrative proceeding as a result of such report shall be immune from any civil liability alleged to have resulted therefrom unless such person acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. D. Medical records or information learned or maintained in connection with an alcohol or drug prevention function that is conducted, regulated, or directly or indirectly assisted by any department or agency of the United States shall be exempt from the reporting requirements of this section to the extent that such reporting is in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2 or regulations adopted thereunder. E. Any person who fails to make a report to the Department as required by this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 assessed by the Director. The Director shall report the assessment of such civil penalty to the Commissioner of Health, Commissioner of Social Services, or Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, as appropriate. Any person assessed a civil penalty pursuant to this section shall not receive a license or certification or renewal of such unless such penalty has been paid pursuant to § 32.1-125.01 . The Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and the University of Virginia Hospitals shall not receive certification pursuant to § 32.1-137 or Article 1.1 (§ 32.1-102.1 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 32.1 unless such penalty has been paid. Code 1950, § 32-137.1; 1977, c. 639; 1978, c. 541, § 54-325.1; 1979, cc. 720, 727; 1986, cc. 303, 434; 1988, c. 765, § 54.1-2906; 1994, c. 234 ; 2000, c. 77 ; 2003, cc. 456 , 753 , 762 ; 2004, cc. 49 , 64 ; 2011, c. 463 ; 2015, c. 119 ; 2017, cc. 418 , 426 ; 2020, cc. 45 , 230 ; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 5 , 243 ; 2024, cc. 96 , 126 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.7 Practitioners treating other practitioners for certain disorders to make reports; immunity from liability

A. Every practitioner in the Commonwealth who is registered, certified, or licensed by a health regulatory board or who holds a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing who treats professionally any person registered, certified, or licensed by a health regulatory board or who holds a multistate licensure privilege shall report, unless exempted by subsection C hereof, to the Director of the Department of Health Professions whenever any such health professional is treated for mental disorders, chemical dependency or alcoholism, unless the attending practitioner has determined that there is a reasonable probability that the person being treated is competent to continue in practice or would not constitute danger to himself or to the health and welfare of his patients or the public. B. Any person making a report required by this section or testifying in a judicial or administrative proceeding as a result of such report shall be immune from any civil liability alleged to have resulted therefrom unless such person acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. C. Medical records or information learned or maintained in connection with an alcohol or drug abuse prevention function that is conducted, regulated, or directly or indirectly assisted by any department or agency of the United States shall be exempt from the reporting requirements of this section to the extent that such reporting is in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2 or regulations adopted thereunder. Code 1950, § 54-317.2; 1966, c. 166; 1973, c. 529, § 54-317.3; 1974, c. 555; 1977, c. 639; 1978, c. 541; 1986, c. 434; 1988, c. 765, § 54.1-2907; 1996, cc. 937 , 980 ; 2004, cc. 49 , 64 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.8 Immunity for reporting

In addition to the immunity for reporting as provided by §§ 54.1-2400.6 and 54.1-2400.7 , any person (i) making a report regarding the conduct or competency of a health care practitioner as required by law or regulation, (ii) making 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 a health regulatory board, or (iii) providing information pursuant to an investigation or testifying in a judicial or administrative proceeding as a result of such reports shall be immune from any civil liability resulting therefrom unless such person acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. 2004, c. 64 ; 2005, c. 932 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2400.9 Reporting disabilities of drivers

Any (i) doctor of medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, or podiatry; (ii) advanced practice registered nurse; (iii) physician assistant; (iv) optometrist; (v) physical therapist; or (vi) clinical psychologist who reports to the Department of Motor Vehicles the existence, or probable existence, of a mental or physical disability or infirmity of any person licensed to operate a motor vehicle which the reporting practitioner believes affects such person's ability to operate a motor vehicle safely shall not be subject to civil liability under § 32.1-127.1:03 resulting from such report or deemed to have violated the practitioner-patient privilege unless he has acted in bad faith or with malicious intent. 2017, cc. 712 , 720 ; 2023, c. 183 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2401 Monetary penalty

Any person licensed, registered, permitted, or certified or issued a multistate licensure privilege by any health regulatory board who violates any provision of statute or regulation pertaining to that board and who is not criminally prosecuted may be subject to the monetary penalty provided in this section. If the board or any special conference committee determines that a respondent has violated any provision of statute or regulation pertaining to the board, it shall determine the amount of any monetary penalty to be imposed for the violation, which shall not exceed $5,000 for each violation. The penalty may be sued for and recovered in the name of the Commonwealth. All such monetary penalties shall be deposited in the Literary Fund. 1980, c. 678, § 54-961; 1988, c. 765; 1992, c. 659; 1997, c. 564 ; 2003, cc. 753 , 762 ; 2004, c. 49 ; 2017, c. 423 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2401.1 Recovery of disciplinary and monitoring costs

A health regulatory board may recover reasonable administrative costs, not to exceed $1,500, associated with investigation, disciplinary proceedings, monitoring, and confirming compliance with any terms and conditions imposed from any person who is (i) licensed, registered, permitted, certified, or issued a multistate or compact licensure privilege by any health regulatory board and (ii) issued a finding of a violation of law or regulation from such health regulatory board. All administrative costs recovered pursuant to this section shall be paid to the health regulatory board by the person licensed, registered, permitted, certified, or issued a multistate or compact licensure privilege. Such administrative costs shall be deposited into the account of the health regulatory board and shall not constitute a fine or penalty. A health regulatory board shall establish specific schedules of administrative costs to be recovered pursuant to this section and shall publish such cost schedule prior to imposing any costs on a regulant. 2026, cc. 971 , 1071 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2402 Citizen members on health regulatory boards

Citizen members appointed to boards within the Department of Health Professions after July 1, 1986, shall participate in all matters. Of the citizen members first appointed to boards with two citizen members, one shall be appointed for a term of two years and one for the maximum term established for members of the respective board. On boards with one citizen member, the citizen member initially appointed shall be appointed for the maximum term established for members of that board. The provisions of this section relating to terms of citizen members on such boards shall not apply to the Board of Medicine or to the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers. For the purposes of this section, "citizen member" shall have the meaning provided in § 54.1-107 . 1986, c. 464, § 54-950.3; 1988, cc. 66, 765.

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2402.1 Appointments, removals, and limitation of terms of members of regulatory boards

Except as otherwise expressly provided, members shall be appointed by the Governor and may be removed by him as provided in subsection A of § 2.2-108 . Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Members shall hold office after expiration of their terms until their successors are duly appointed and have qualified. All members of regulatory boards appointed by the Governor for terms commencing on or after July 1, 1988, shall be appointed for terms of four years. No members shall serve more than two successive full terms on any regulatory board. 1988, c. 42, § 54-950.4.

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2403 Certain advertising prohibited

No person licensed, certified, registered, or permitted by one of the boards within the Department shall use any form of advertising that contains any false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement or claim. 1987, c. 199, § 54-959.1; 1988, c. 765; 2017, c. 423 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2403.01 Routine component of prenatal care

A. As a routine component of prenatal care, every practitioner licensed pursuant to this subtitle who renders prenatal care, including any holder of a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing, regardless of the site of such practice, shall inform every pregnant woman who is his patient that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening is recommended for all pregnant patients and that she will receive an HIV test as part of the routine panel of prenatal tests unless she declines (opt-out screening). The practitioner shall offer the pregnant woman oral or written information that includes an explanation of HIV infection, a description of interventions that can reduce HIV transmission from mother to infant, and the meaning of positive and negative test results. The confidentiality provisions of § 32.1-36.1 , test result disclosure conditions, and appropriate counseling requirements of § 32.1-37.2 shall apply to any HIV testing conducted pursuant to this section. Practitioners shall counsel all pregnant women with HIV-positive test results about the dangers to the fetus and the advisability of receiving treatment in accordance with the then current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for HIV-positive pregnant women. Any pregnant woman shall have the right to refuse testing for HIV infection and any recommended treatment. Documentation of such refusal shall be maintained in the patient's medical record. B. As a routine component of prenatal care, every practitioner licensed pursuant to this subtitle who renders prenatal care, including any holder of a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing, regardless of the site of such practice, upon receipt of a positive test result from a prenatal test for Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions performed on a patient, the health care provider involved may provide the patient with information about the Virginia Department of Health genetics program website and shall provide the patient with up-to-date, scientific written information concerning the life expectancy, clinical course, and intellectual and functional development and treatment options for an unborn child diagnosed with or child born with Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions. He may also provide a referral to support services providers, including information hotlines specific to Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions, resource centers or clearinghouses, and other education and support programs. For the purposes of this section, "prenatally diagnosed condition" means any fetal health condition identified by prenatal genetic testing or prenatal screening procedures. 1995, c. 309 ; 2004, c. 49 ; 2007, cc. 780 , 822 ; 2008, c. 641 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2403.1 Protocol for certain medical history screening required

A. As a routine component of every pregnant woman's prenatal care, every practitioner licensed pursuant to this subtitle who renders prenatal care, including any holder of a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing, regardless of the site of such practice, shall establish and implement a medical history protocol for screening pregnant women for substance abuse to determine the need for a specific substance abuse evaluation. The medical history protocol shall include, but need not be limited to, a description of the screening device and shall address abuse of both legal and illegal substances. The medical history screening may be followed, as necessary and appropriate, with a thorough substance abuse evaluation. B. The results of such medical history screening and of any specific substance abuse evaluation which may be conducted shall be confidential and, if the woman is enrolled in a treatment program operated by any facility receiving federal funds, shall only be released as provided in federal law and regulations. However, if the woman is not enrolled in a treatment program or is not enrolled in a program operated by a facility receiving federal funds, the results may only be released to the following persons: 1. The subject of the medical history screening or her legally authorized representative. 2. Any person designated in a written release signed by the subject of the medical history screening or her legally authorized representative. 3. Health care providers for the purposes of consultation or providing care and treatment to the person who was the subject of the medical history screening. C. The results of the medical history screening required by this section or any specific substance abuse evaluation which may be conducted as part of the prenatal care shall not be admissible in any criminal proceeding. D. Practitioners shall advise their patients of the results of the medical history screening and specific substance abuse evaluation, and shall provide such information to third-party payers as may be required for reimbursement of the costs of medical care. However, such information shall not be admissible in any criminal proceedings. Practitioners shall advise all pregnant women whose medical history screenings and specific substance abuse evaluations are positive for substance abuse of appropriate treatment and shall inform such women of the potential for poor birth outcomes from substance abuse. 1992, c. 428; 2004, c. 49 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2403.2 Record storage

A. Health records, as defined in § 32.1-127.1:03 , may be stored by computerized or other electronic process or microfilm, or other photographic, mechanical, or chemical process; however, the stored record shall identify the location of any documents or information that could not be so technologically stored. If the technological storage process creates an unalterable record, a health care provider licensed, certified, registered or issued a multistate licensure privilege by a health regulatory board within the Department shall not be required to maintain paper copies of health records that have been stored by computerized or other electronic process, microfilm, or other photographic, mechanical, or chemical process. Upon completing such technological storage, paper copies of health records may be destroyed in a manner that preserves the patient's confidentiality. However, any documents or information that could not be so technologically stored shall be preserved. B. Notwithstanding the authority given in this section to store health records in the form of microfilm, prescription dispensing records maintained in or on behalf of any pharmacy registered or permitted in Virginia shall only be stored in compliance with §§ 54.1-3410 , 54.1-3411 , and 54.1-3412 . 1994, c. 390 ; 1998, c. 470 ; 2004, c. 49 ; 2012, c. 336 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2403.02 Prenatal education; cord blood banking

Every practitioner licensed pursuant to this subtitle who renders prenatal care, including any holder of a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing, regardless of the site of such practice, shall, prior to the beginning of his patient's third trimester of pregnancy or, if later, at the first visit of such pregnant woman to the provider, make available to the patient information developed pursuant to § 32.1-69.4 relating to the women's options with respect to umbilical cord blood banking. 2010, c. 69 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2403.3 Medical records; ownership; provision of copies

Medical records maintained by any health care provider as defined in § 32.1-127.1:03 shall be the property of such health care provider or, in the case of a health care provider employed by another health care provider, the property of the employer. Such health care provider shall release copies of any such medical records in compliance with § 32.1-127.1:03 or § 8.01-413 , if the request is made for purposes of litigation, or as otherwise provided by state or federal law. 1995, c. 754 ; 1997, c. 682 ; 1998, c. 470 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2404 Itemized statements required upon request

Upon the request of any of his patients, any health care provider licensed or certified by any of the boards within the Department, except in the case of health care services as defined in Chapter 43 (§ 38.2-4300 et seq.) of Title 38.2, shall provide to such patient an itemized statement of the charges for the services rendered to the requesting patient regardless of whether a bill for the services which are the subject of the request has been or will be submitted to any third party payor including medical assistance services. 1990, c. 590; 2026, cc. 225 , 226 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2404.1 Patient records

Any health care provider who makes health records, as defined in § 32.1-127.1:03 , of patients who are minors available to such patients through a secure website shall make all such health records available to such patient's parent or guardian through such secure website, unless the health care provider cannot make such health record available in a manner that prevents disclosure of information, the disclosure of which has been denied pursuant to subsection F of § 32.1-127.1:03 or for which consent required in accordance with subsection E of § 54.1-2969 has not been provided. 2022, c. 218 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2404.2 Health care providers; disclosure of records; actions for which an authorization is not required

A. Subject to any limitations set forth in an authorization for the disclosure of health records executed pursuant to § 32.1-127.1:03 and the provisions of subsection F of § 32.1-127.1:03 , every health care provider shall make health records, as defined in § 32.1-127.1:03 , of a patient available to any person designated by a patient in an authorization to disclose health records pursuant to § 32.1-127.1:03 to the same extent that such health records are required to be made available to the patient had the patient requested such health records. B. Every health care provider shall allow a spouse, parent, adult child, adult sibling, or other person identified by a patient to make an appointment for medical services on behalf of such patient, regardless of whether such patient has executed an authorization to disclose health records to such person pursuant to § 32.1-127.1:03 ; however, such health care provider shall not disclose protected health information to the person making the appointment for medical services on behalf of the patient unless the patient has executed an authorization to disclose health records pursuant to § 32.1-127.1:03 or unless otherwise permitted or required to do so by federal or state law or regulations. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a health care provider from sharing relevant protected health information related to the patient's health care or payment with a spouse, parent, adult child, adult sibling, or other person involved in the patient's health care or payment in accordance with 45 C.F.R. § 164.510. 2022, c. 784 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2405 Transfer of patient records in conjunction with closure, sale, or relocation of practice; notice required

A. No person licensed, registered, or certified by one of the health regulatory boards under the Department shall transfer records pertaining to a current patient in conjunction with the closure, sale or relocation of a professional practice until such person has first attempted to notify the patient of the pending transfer, either electronically or by mail, at the patient's last known address, and by publishing prior notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the provider's practice area, as specified in § 8.01-324 . The notice shall specify that, at the written request of the patient or an authorized representative, the records or copies will be sent, within a reasonable time, to any other like-regulated provider of the patient's choice or provided to the patient pursuant to § 32.1-127.1:03 . The notice shall also disclose whether any charges will be billed by the provider for supplying the patient or the provider chosen by the patient with the originals or copies of the patient's records. Such charges shall not exceed the actual costs of copying and mailing or delivering the records. B. For the purposes of this section: "Current patient" means a patient who has had a patient encounter with the provider or his professional practice during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the record transfer. "Relocation of a professional practice" means the moving of a practice located in Virginia from the location at which the records are stored at the time of the notice to another practice site that is located more than 30 miles away or to another practice site that is located in another state or the District of Columbia. 1992, c. 759; 2003, cc. 912 , 917 ; 2004, c. 53 ; 2022, c. 73 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2406 Treatment records of practitioners

No records of the identity, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of any practitioner of any profession regulated by any of the regulatory boards within the Department of Health Professions obtained by the Department or any health regulatory board from a health care provider or facility that is treating or has treated such practitioner for drug addiction or chronic alcoholism shall be disclosed except: 1. In a disciplinary hearing before a health regulatory board or in any subsequent trial or appeal of a board action or order; 2. To licensing or disciplinary authorities of other jurisdictions or to hospital committees located within or outside this Commonwealth which are concerned with granting, limiting, or denying a physician hospital privileges if a final determination regarding disciplinary action has been made; or 3. Pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. 1992, c. 808.

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2407 Requirements for human research

Any person licensed, registered, or certified by any health regulatory board who engages in the conduct of human research, as defined in § 32.1-162.16 , shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 5.1 (§ 32.1-162.16 et seq.) of Title 32.1. Failure to so comply shall constitute unprofessional conduct. 1992, c. 603.

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2408 Disqualification for license, certificate or registration

A board within the Department of Health Professions shall refuse to admit a candidate to any examination and shall refuse to issue a license, certificate or registration to any applicant if the candidate or applicant has had his license, certificate or registration to practice the profession or occupation revoked or suspended for any reason other than nonrenewal by another jurisdiction, and has not had his license, certificate or registration to so practice reinstated by the jurisdiction which revoked or suspended his license, certificate or registration, except as may be necessary to license a nurse eligible for reinstatement in another party state as consistent with the Nurse Licensure Compact. 1993, c. 991; 2010, c. 414 ; 2014, c. 76 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2408.1 Summary action against licenses, certificates, registrations, or multistate licensure privilege; allegations to be in writing

A. Any health regulatory board may suspend the license, certificate, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege of any person holding a license, certificate, registration, permit, or licensure privilege issued by it without a hearing simultaneously with the institution of proceedings for a hearing, if the relevant board finds that there is a substantial danger to the public health or safety which warrants this action. A board may meet by telephone conference call when summarily suspending a license, certificate, registration, permit, or licensure privilege if a good faith effort to assemble a quorum of the board has failed and, in the judgment of a majority of the members of the board, the continued practice by the individual constitutes a substantial danger to the public health or safety. Institution of proceedings for a hearing shall be provided simultaneously with the summary suspension. The hearing shall be scheduled within a reasonable time of the date of the summary suspension. B. Any health regulatory board may restrict the license, certificate, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege of any person holding a license, certificate, registration, permit, or licensure privilege issued by it without proceeding simultaneously with notification of an informal conference pursuant to §§ 2.2-4019 and 54.1-2400 , if the relevant board finds that there is a substantial danger to the public health or safety that warrants this action. A board may meet by telephone conference call when summarily restricting a license, certificate, registration, permit, or licensure privilege if a good faith effort to assemble a quorum of the board has failed and, in the judgment of a majority of the members of the board, the continued practice by the individual constitutes a substantial danger to the public health or safety. The informal conference shall be scheduled within a reasonable time of the date of the summary restriction. Evidence establishing that the registration issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to a person holding a license, certificate, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege has been suspended or voluntarily surrendered in lieu of disciplinary action is sufficient for a finding that there is a substantial danger to the public health or safety. C. Allegations of violations of this title shall be made in writing to the relevant health regulatory board. 1997, c. 556 ; 2004, c. 49 ; 2007, c. 22 ; 2013, c. 765 ; 2019, c. 94 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2408.01 Prior convictions not to abridge rights

The provisions of § 54.1-204 shall apply to all persons who are licensed, certified, registered, or permitted by any of the boards within the Department of Health Professions. 2025, c. 505 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2408.2 Minimum period for reinstatement after revocation

When the certificate, registration, permit, or license of any person certified, registered, permitted, or licensed by one of the health regulatory boards has been revoked, the board may, after three years and upon the payment of a fee prescribed by the board, consider an application for reinstatement of a certificate, registration, permit, or license in the same manner as the original certificates, registrations, permits, or licenses are granted; however, if a license has been revoked pursuant to subdivision A 19 of § 54.1-2915 , the board shall not consider an application for reinstatement until five years have passed since revocation. A board shall conduct an investigation and review an application for reinstatement after revocation to determine whether there are causes for denial of the application. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant to show by clear and convincing evidence that he is safe and competent to practice. The reinstatement of a certificate, registration, permit, or license shall require the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members at the hearing. In the discretion of the board, such reinstatement may be granted without further examination. 2003, cc. 753 , 762 ; 2013, c. 365 ; 2014, cc. 11 , 96 ; 2017, c. 423 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2408.3 Practice pending appeal

Any practitioner or entity whose license, certificate, registration, or permit is suspended or revoked by a health regulatory board of the Department of Health Professions shall not engage in practice in the Commonwealth pending appeal of the board's order. 2013, c. 115 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2408.4 Temporary authorization to practice

A. A health care practitioner licensed, certified, or registered in another state or the District of Columbia may temporarily practice for one 90-day period, provided that the following conditions are met: 1. The practitioner is contracted by or has received an offer of employment in the Commonwealth from a licensed hospital, a nursing home, an assisted living facility, a dialysis facility, the Department of Health, or a local health department; 2. The employer or contractor verifies that the out-of-state health care provider possesses an active and unencumbered license, certification, or registration for the profession in which he will be employed or contracted in another state or the District of Columbia; 3. The employer or contractor obtains a report from the National Practitioner Data Bank if the applicant is subject to reporting; and 4. Prior to the out-of-state health care practitioner's practicing, the employer or contractor notifies the appropriate health regulatory board that the out-of-state health care practitioner is employed or under contract and will practice under the temporary authorization. This notice shall include the out-of-state health care practitioner's out-of-state license, certification, or registration number and a statement that such practitioner meets all of the requirements set forth in this section. B. If the health care practitioner practicing with a temporary authorization has submitted an application for licensure, certification, or registration, the applicable health regulatory board shall expedite such applications for out-of-state health care practitioners practicing pursuant to this section. If licensure, certification, or registration remains pending after the initial 90-day temporary authorization, the authorization may be extended for an additional 60 days, provided that the employer or contractor submits notice to the applicable health regulatory board. C. Out-of-state health care practitioners practicing pursuant to this section shall be subject to the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth and shall be subject to disciplinary action by the applicable health regulatory board. D. The Department of Health Professions shall, beginning July 1, 2023, annually report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health and Human Services the number of out-of-state health care practitioners who have utilized the temporary authorization to practice pending licensure and have not subsequently been issued full licensure. 2022, cc. 463 , 464 ; 2024, c. 390 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409 Mandatory suspension or revocation; reinstatement; hearing for reinstatement

A. Upon receipt of documentation by any court or government agency that a person licensed, certified, or registered by a board within the Department of Health Professions has (i) had his license, certificate, or registration to practice the same profession or occupation revoked or suspended for reasons other than nonrenewal or accepted for surrender in lieu of disciplinary action in another jurisdiction and has not had his license, certificate, or registration to so practice reinstated within that jurisdiction, unless such revocation, suspension, or surrender was based solely on the disciplinary action of a board within the Department or mandatory suspension by the Director of the Department or (ii) been convicted of a felony or has been adjudged incapacitated, the Director shall immediately suspend, without a hearing, the license, certificate, or registration of any person so disciplined, convicted, or adjudged. The Director shall notify such person or his legal guardian, conservator, trustee, committee, or other representative of the suspension in writing to his address on record with the Department. Such notice shall include a copy of the documentation from such court or agency, certified by the Director as the documentation received from such court or agency. Such person shall not have the right to practice within the Commonwealth until his license, certificate, or registration has been reinstated by the relevant board within the Department of Health Professions. B. The clerk of any court in which a conviction of a felony or an adjudication of incapacity is made, who has knowledge that a person licensed, certified, or registered by a board within the Department has been convicted or found incapacitated, shall have a duty to report these findings promptly to the Director. C. When a conviction has not become final, the Director may decline to suspend the license, certificate, or registration until the conviction becomes final if there is a likelihood of injury or damage to the public if the person's services are not available. D. Any person whose license, certificate, or registration has been suspended as provided in this section may apply to the board for reinstatement of his license, certificate, or registration. Such person shall be entitled to a hearing not later than the next regular meeting of the board after the expiration of 60 days from the receipt of such application, and shall have the right to be represented by counsel and to summon witnesses to testify in his behalf. The board may consider other information concerning possible violations of Virginia law at such hearing, if reasonable notice is given to such person of the information. The reinstatement of the applicant's license, certificate, or registration shall require the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members of the board at the hearing. The board may order such reinstatement without further examination of the applicant, or reinstate the license, certificate, or registration upon such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate. E. Pursuant to the authority of the Board of Nursing provided in Chapter 30 (§ 54.1-3000 et seq.), the provisions of this section shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to persons holding a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing. 1993, c. 991; 1997, c. 801 ; 2002, c. 455 ; 2004, c. 49 ; 2006, c. 367 ; 2010, c. 414 ; 2014, c. 76 ; 2019, c. 138 ; 2025, c. 341 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409.1 Criminal penalties for practicing certain professions and occupations without appropriate licensure, certificate, etc

Any person who, without holding a current valid license, certificate, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege issued by a regulatory board pursuant to this title (i) performs an invasive procedure for which a license or multistate licensure privilege is required; (ii) administers, prescribes, sells, distributes, or dispenses a controlled drug; or (iii) practices a profession or occupation after having his license, certificate, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege to do so suspended or revoked shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony. 1994, c. 722 ; 2004, c. 49 ; 2017, c. 423 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409.1:1 Interjurisdictional compacts; criminal history record checks

If an interjurisdictional compact requires criminal history record checks as a condition of participation, the applicable health regulatory board shall require each applicant to submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded along with his fingerprints through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information. The cost of fingerprinting and the criminal history record search shall be paid by the applicant. The Central Criminal Records Exchange shall forward the results of the state and federal criminal history record search to the applicable health regulatory board. If an applicant is denied licensure because of information appearing on his criminal history record and the applicant disputes the information upon which the denial was based, the Central Criminal Records Exchange shall, upon written request, furnish to the applicant the procedures for obtaining a copy of the criminal history record from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Criminal Records Exchange. Information obtained pursuant to this section shall not be disseminated except as provided in this section. 2023, cc. 118 , 119 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409.2 Repealed

Repealed by Acts 2025, c. 341 , cl. 2, effective July 1, 2025.

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409.3 Participation of advisory boards in disciplinary proceedings

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, whenever a disciplinary proceeding involves a respondent who holds a license or certificate authorizing the practice of a profession represented by a statutorily created advisory board whose members are appointed by the Governor, a member of such advisory board shall sit as a full voting member on any special conference committee, informal fact-finding panel, or formal hearing panel pursuant to Article 3 (§ 2.2-4018 et seq.) of Chapter 40 of Title 2.2 and § 54.1-2400 or 54.1-2408.2 . 2002, c. 698 ; 2013, c. 144 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409.4 Authority to receive laboratory results directly

A. Any health care practitioner licensed under this title who, within the scope of his practice, orders a laboratory test or other examination of the physical condition of any person shall, if so requested by the patient or his legal guardian, provide a copy of the report of the results to the patient or his legal guardian, unless, in the professional opinion of the health care practitioner, there is a medical reason not to do so. B. The health care practitioner, at his sole discretion, may authorize the laboratory to provide a copy of the report of the results directly to the patient or his legal guardian. The patient or his legal guardian shall then be considered authorized to receive the report or result for the purposes of the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. C. With the prior authorization of the patient, a laboratory may, contemporaneously with, or subsequent to, furnishing the report to the ordering health care practitioner, provide a copy of the report of the results directly to the insurance carrier, health maintenance organization, or self-insured plan that provides health insurance or similar coverage to the patient. The insurance carrier, health maintenance organization, or self-insured plan shall then be considered authorized to receive the report or result for the purposes of the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. 2007, cc. 887 , 930 ; 2011, cc. 807 , 849 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409.5 Conversion therapy prohibited

A. As used in this section, "conversion therapy" means any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. "Conversion therapy" does not include counseling that provides acceptance, support, and understanding of a person or facilitates a person's coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, including sexual-orientation-neutral interventions to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, as long as such counseling does not seek to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. B. No person licensed pursuant to this subtitle or who performs counseling as part of his training for any profession licensed pursuant to this subtitle shall engage in conversion therapy with a person under 18 years of age. Any conversion therapy efforts with a person under 18 years of age engaged in by a provider licensed in accordance with the provisions of this subtitle or who performs counseling as part of his training for any profession licensed pursuant to this subtitle shall constitute unprofessional conduct and shall be grounds for disciplinary action by the appropriate health regulatory board within the Department of Health Professions. 2020, cc. 41 , 721 .

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2409.6 Recommendation for continuing education for certain licensees

Each health regulatory board shall make a recommendation that any individual who is registered, certified, licensed, or issued a multistate licensure privilege by such licensing board and whose duties may involve direct contact with children complete continuing education on communicating with children with autism spectrum disorder. Such recommendation shall include (i) an overview of the characteristics and behavioral recognition of autism spectrum disorder, (ii) strategies for communicating and interacting with children with autism spectrum disorder, and (iii) best practices for responding to and de-escalating certain behavioral challenges and situations. The licensing board may include specific continuing education programs on communicating with children with autism spectrum disorder. 2025, c. 516 .

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title54.1/chapter24/Fetched: 10/16/2026