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ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
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Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2005 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 2.2-3705.5, 16.1-338, 20-124.6, and 54.1-2969 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 2.2-3705.5. Exclusions to application of chapter; health and social services records.
The following records are excluded from the provisions of this chapter but may be disclosed by the custodian in his discretion, except where such disclosure is prohibited by law:
1. Health records, except that such records may be personally reviewed by the individual who is the subject of such records, as provided in subsection F of § 32.1-127.1:03.
Where the person who is the subject of medical
health records is confined in a state or local correctional facility, the
administrator or chief medical officer of such facility may assert such
confined person's right of access to the medical health records
if the administrator or chief medical officer has reasonable cause to believe
that such confined person has an infectious disease or other medical condition
from which other persons so confined need to be protected. Medical Health
records shall only be reviewed and shall not be copied by such
administrator or chief medical officer. The information in the medical health
records of a person so confined shall continue to be confidential and shall
not be disclosed by the administrator or chief medical officer of the facility
to any person except the subject or except as provided by law.
Where the person who is the subject of medical and mental
health records is under the age of 18, his right of access may be
asserted only by his guardian or his parent, including a noncustodial parent,
unless such parent's parental rights have been terminated or, a
court of competent jurisdiction has restricted or denied such access, or a
parent has been denied access to the health record in accordance with §
20-124.6. In instances where the person who is the subject thereof is an
emancipated minor or, a student in a public institution of higher
education, or is a minor who has consented to his own treatment as
authorized by § 16.1-338 or 54.1-2969, the right of access may be asserted
by the subject person.
For the purposes of this chapter, statistical summaries of incidents and statistical data concerning patient abuse as may be compiled by the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services shall be open to inspection and copying as provided in § 2.2-3704. No such summaries or data shall include any patient-identifying information.
2. Applications for admission to examinations or for licensure and scoring records maintained by the Department of Health Professions or any board in that department on individual licensees or applicants. However, such material may be made available during normal working hours for copying, at the requester's expense, by the individual who is the subject thereof, in the offices of the Department of Health Professions or in the offices of any health regulatory board, whichever may possess the material.
3. Reports, documentary evidence and other information as specified in §§ 2.2-706 and 63.2-104.
4. Investigative notes; proprietary information not published, copyrighted or patented; information obtained from employee personnel records; personally identifiable information regarding residents, clients or other recipients of services; and other correspondence and information furnished in confidence to the Department of Social Services in connection with an active investigation of an applicant or licensee pursuant to Chapters 17 (§ 63.2-1700 et seq.) and 18 (§ 63.2-1800 et seq.) of Title 63.2. However, nothing in this section shall prohibit disclosure of information from the records of completed investigations in a form that does not reveal the identity of complainants, persons supplying information, or other individuals involved in the investigation.
5. Information and records collected for the designation and verification of trauma centers and other specialty care centers within the Statewide Emergency Medical Services System and Services pursuant to Article 2.1 (§ 32.1-111.1 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 32.1.
6. Reports and court documents relating to involuntary admission required to be kept confidential pursuant to § 37.1-67.3.
7. Data formerly required to be submitted to the Commissioner of Health relating to the establishment of new or the expansion of existing clinical health services, acquisition of major medical equipment, or certain projects requiring capital expenditures pursuant to former § 32.1-102.3:4.
8. Information required to be provided to the Department of Health Professions by certain licensees pursuant to § 54.1-2506.1.
9. All information and records acquired during a review of any child death by the State Child Fatality Review team established pursuant to § 32.1-283.1, during a review of any child death by a local or regional child fatality review team established pursuant to § 32.1-283.2, and all information and records acquired during a review of any death by a family violence fatality review team established pursuant to § 32.1-283.3.
10. Patient level data collected by the Board of Health and not yet processed, verified, and released, pursuant to § 32.1-276.9, to the Board by the nonprofit organization with which the Commissioner of Health has contracted pursuant to § 32.1-276.4.
11. Records of the Intervention Program Committee within the Department of Health Professions, to the extent such records may identify any practitioner who may be, or who is actually, impaired to the extent disclosure is prohibited by § 54.1-2517.
12. Records submitted as a grant application, or accompanying a grant application, to the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Advisory Board pursuant to Chapter 3.1 (§ 51.5-12.1 et seq.) of Title 51.5, to the extent such records contain (i) medical or mental records, or other data identifying individual patients or (ii) proprietary business or research-related information produced or collected by the applicant in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on medical, rehabilitative, scientific, technical or scholarly issues, when such information has not been publicly released, published, copyrighted or patented, if the disclosure of such information would be harmful to the competitive position of the applicant.
13. Any record copied, recorded or received by the Commissioner of Health in the course of an examination, investigation or review of a managed care health insurance plan licensee pursuant to §§ 32.1-137.4 and 32.1-137.5, including books, records, files, accounts, papers, documents, and any or all computer or other recordings.
14. Records, information and statistical registries required to be kept confidential pursuant to §§ 63.2-102 and 63.2-104.
15. (For effective date - See note) All data, records, and reports relating to the prescribing and dispensing of covered substances to recipients and any abstracts from such data, records, and reports that are in the possession of the Prescription Monitoring Program pursuant to Chapter 25.2 (§ 54.1-2519 et seq.) of Title 54.1 and any material relating to the operation or security of the Program.
16. Records of the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program required to be kept confidential pursuant to § 38.2-5002.2.
17. Records of the State Health Commissioner relating to the health of any person or persons subject to an order of quarantine or an order of isolation pursuant to Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of Title 32.1; this provision shall not, however, be construed to prohibit the disclosure of statistical summaries, abstracts or other information in aggregate form.
18. Records containing the names and addresses or other contact information of persons receiving transportation services from a state or local public body or its designee under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, (42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.) or funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) created under § 63.2-600.
§ 16.1-338. Parental admission of minors younger than 14 and nonobjecting minors 14 years of age or older.
A. A minor younger than fourteen 14 years of age
may be admitted to a willing mental health facility for inpatient treatment
upon application and with the consent of a parent. A minor fourteen
14 years of age or older may be admitted to a willing mental health
facility for inpatient treatment upon the joint application and consent of the
minor and the minor's parent.
B. Admission of a minor under this section shall be approved
by a qualified evaluator who has conducted a personal examination of the minor
within forty-eight 48 hours after admission and has made the
following written findings:
1. The minor appears to have a mental illness serious enough to warrant inpatient treatment and is reasonably likely to benefit from the treatment; and
2. The minor has been provided with a clinically appropriate explanation of the nature and purpose of the treatment; and
3. If the minor is fourteen 14 years of age or
older, that he has been provided with an explanation of his rights under this
Act as they would apply if he were to object to admission, and that he has
consented to admission; and
4. All available modalities of treatment less restrictive than inpatient treatment have been considered and no less restrictive alternative is available that would offer comparable benefits to the minor.
If admission is sought to a state hospital, the community services board serving the area in which the minor resides shall provide the examination required by this section and shall ensure that the necessary written findings have been made before approving the admission. A copy of the written findings of the evaluation required by this section shall be provided to the consenting parent and the parent shall have the opportunity to discuss the findings with the evaluator.
C. Within ten 10 days after the admission of a
minor under this section, the director of the facility or the director's
designee shall ensure that an individualized plan of treatment has been
prepared by the provider responsible for the minor's treatment and has been
explained to the parent consenting to the admission and to the minor. The minor
shall be involved in the preparation of the plan to the maximum feasible extent
consistent with his ability to understand and participate, and the minor's
family shall be involved to the maximum extent consistent with the minor's
treatment needs. The plan shall include a preliminary plan for placement and
aftercare upon completion of inpatient treatment and shall include specific
behavioral and emotional goals against which the success of treatment may be
measured. A copy of the plan shall be provided to the minor and to his parents.
D. If the parent who consented to a minor's admission under
this section revokes his consent at any time, or if a minor fourteen
14 or older objects at any time to further treatment, the minor shall be
discharged within forty-eight 48 hours to the custody of such
consenting parent unless the minor's continued hospitalization is authorized
pursuant to §§ 16.1-339, 16.1-340, or § 16.1-345.
E. Inpatient treatment of a minor hospitalized under this
section may not exceed ninety 90 consecutive days unless it has
been authorized by appropriate hospital medical personnel, based upon their
written findings that the criteria set forth in subsection B of this section
continue to be met, after such persons have examined the minor and interviewed
the consenting parent and reviewed reports submitted by members of the facility
staff familiar with the minor's condition.
F. Any minor admitted under this section while younger than
fourteen 14 and his consenting parent shall be informed orally and
in writing by the director of the facility for inpatient treatment within
ten 10 days of his fourteenth birthday that continued voluntary
treatment under the authority of this section requires his consent.
G. Any minor 14 years of age or older who joins in an application and consents to admission pursuant to subsection A, shall, in addition to his parent, have the right to access his health information. The concurrent authorization of both the parent and the minor shall be required to disclose such minor's health information.
§ 20-124.6. Access to minor's records.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither
parent, regardless of whether such parent has custody, shall be denied access
to the academic, medical, hospital or other health records of
that parent's minor child unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause
shown or pursuant to subsection B.
B. In the case of health records, access may also be denied if the minor's treating physician or the minor's treating clinical psychologist has made a part of the minor's record a written statement that, in the exercise of his professional judgment, the furnishing to or review by the requesting parent of such health records would be reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the minor or another person. If a health care entity denies a parental request for access to, or copies of, a minor's health record, the health care entity denying the request shall comply with the provisions of subsection F of § 32.1-127.1:03. The minor or his parent, either or both, shall have the right to have the denial reviewed as specified in subsection F of § 32.1-127.1:03 to determine whether to make the minor's health record available to the requesting parent.
C. For the purposes of this section, the meaning of the term "health record" or the plural thereof and the term "health care entity" shall be as defined in subsection B of § 32.1-127.1:03.
§ 54.1-2969. Authority to consent to surgical and medical treatment of certain minors.
A. Whenever any minor who has been separated from the custody of his parent or guardian is in need of surgical or medical treatment, authority commensurate with that of a parent in like cases is conferred, for the purpose of giving consent to such surgical or medical treatment, as follows:
1. Upon judges with respect to minors whose custody is within the control of their respective courts.
2. Upon local directors of social services or their designees with respect to (i) minors who are committed to the care and custody of the local board by courts of competent jurisdiction, (ii) minors who are taken into custody pursuant to § 63.2-1517, and (iii) minors who are entrusted to the local board by the parent, parents or guardian, when the consent of the parent or guardian cannot be obtained immediately and, in the absence of such consent, a court order for such treatment cannot be obtained immediately.
3. Upon the Director of the Department of Corrections or the Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice or his designees with respect to any minor who is sentenced or committed to his custody.
4. Upon the principal executive officers of state institutions with respect to the wards of such institutions.
5. Upon the principal executive officer of any other institution or agency legally qualified to receive minors for care and maintenance separated from their parents or guardians, with respect to any minor whose custody is within the control of such institution or agency.
6. Upon any person standing in loco parentis, or upon a conservator or custodian for his ward or other charge under disability.
B. Whenever the consent of the parent or guardian of any minor
who is in need of surgical or medical treatment is unobtainable because such
parent or guardian is not a resident of this the Commonwealth or
his whereabouts is unknown or he cannot be consulted with promptness reasonable
under the circumstances, authority commensurate with that of a parent in like
cases is conferred, for the purpose of giving consent to such surgical or
medical treatment, upon judges of juvenile and domestic relations district
courts.
C. Whenever delay in providing medical or surgical treatment
to a minor may adversely affect such minor's recovery and no person authorized
in this section to consent to such treatment for such minor is available within
a reasonable time under the circumstances, no liability shall be imposed upon
qualified emergency medical services personnel as defined in § 32.1-111.1 at
the scene of an accident, fire or other emergency, a licensed health
professional, or a licensed hospital by reason of lack of consent to such
medical or surgical treatment. However, in the case of a minor fourteen
14 years of age or older who is physically capable of giving consent, such
consent shall be obtained first.
D. Whenever delay in providing transportation to a minor from
the scene of an accident, fire or other emergency prior to hospital admission
may adversely affect such minor's recovery and no person authorized in this
section to consent to such transportation for such minor is available within a
reasonable time under the circumstances, no liability shall be imposed upon
emergency medical services personnel as defined in § 32.1-111.1, by reason of
lack of consent to such transportation. However, in the case of a minor
fourteen 14 years of age or older who is physically capable of
giving consent, such consent shall be obtained first.
E. A minor shall be deemed an adult for the purpose of consenting to:
1. Medical or health services needed to determine the presence of or to treat venereal disease or any infectious or contagious disease that the State Board of Health requires to be reported;
2. Medical or health services required in case of birth control, pregnancy or family planning except for the purposes of sexual sterilization;
3. Medical or health services needed in the case of outpatient care, treatment or rehabilitation for substance abuse as defined in § 37.1-203; or
4. Medical or health services needed in the case of outpatient
care, treatment or rehabilitation for mental illness or emotional disturbance;
or
5. The release of medical records. A minor shall
also be deemed an adult for the purpose of accessing or authorizing the
disclosure of medical records related to subdivisions 1 and 2
through 4.
F. Except for the purposes of sexual sterilization, any minor who is or has been married shall be deemed an adult for the purpose of giving consent to surgical and medical treatment.
G. A pregnant minor shall be deemed an adult for the sole purpose of giving consent for herself and her child to surgical and medical treatment relating to the delivery of her child when such surgical or medical treatment is provided during the delivery of the child or the duration of the hospital admission for such delivery; thereafter, the minor mother of such child shall also be deemed an adult for the purpose of giving consent to surgical and medical treatment for her child.
H. Any minor seventeen 17 years of age may, with
the consent of a parent or legal guardian, consent to donate blood and may
donate blood if such minor meets donor eligibility requirements. However,
parental consent to donate blood by any minor seventeen 17 years
of age shall not be required if such minor receives no consideration for his
blood donation and the procurer of the blood is a nonprofit, voluntary organization.
I. Any judge, local director of social services, Director of the Department of Corrections, Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice, or principal executive officer of any state or other institution or agency who consents to surgical or medical treatment of a minor in accordance with this section shall make a reasonable effort to notify the minor's parent or guardian of such action as soon as practicable.
J. Nothing in subsection G shall be construed to permit a minor to consent to an abortion without complying with § 16.1-241.
K. Nothing in subdivision 3 of subsection E shall
prevent a parent, legal guardian or person standing in loco parentis from
obtaining (i) the results of a minor's nondiagnostic drug test when the
minor is not receiving care, treatment or rehabilitation for substance abuse as
defined in § 37.1-203 or (ii) a minor's other health records, except when
the minor’s treating physician or the minor’s treating clinical psychologist
has determined, in the exercise of his professional judgment, that the
disclosure of health records to the parent, legal guardian, or person standing
in loco parentis would be reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the
minor or another person pursuant to subsection B of § 20-124.6.