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2009 SESSION


CHAPTER 687
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-2400.02 and 54.1-3005 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Department of Health Professions; information concerning health professionals.
[S 1282]
Approved March 30, 2009

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 54.1-2400.02 and 54.1-3005 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 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.

§ 54.1-3005. Specific powers and duties of Board.

In addition to the general powers and duties conferred in this title, the Board shall have the following specific powers and duties:

1. To prescribe minimum standards and approve curricula for educational programs preparing persons for licensure or certification under this chapter;

2. To approve programs that meet the requirements of this chapter and of the Board;

3. To provide consultation service for educational programs as requested;

4. To provide for periodic surveys of educational programs;

5. To deny or withdraw approval from educational programs for failure to meet prescribed standards;

6. To provide consultation regarding nursing practice for institutions and agencies as requested and investigate illegal nursing practices;

7. To keep a record of all its proceedings;

8. To certify and maintain a registry of all certified nurse aides and to promulgate regulations consistent with federal law and regulation. The Board shall require all schools to demonstrate their compliance with § 54.1-3006.2 upon application for approval or reapproval, during an on-site visit, or in response to a complaint or a report of noncompliance. The Board may impose a fee pursuant to § 54.1-2401 for any violation thereof. Such regulations may include standards for the authority of licensed practical nurses to teach nurse aides;

9. To approve programs that entitle professional nurses to be registered as clinical nurse specialists and to prescribe minimum standards for such programs;

10. To maintain a registry of clinical nurse specialists and to promulgate regulations governing clinical nurse specialists;

11. To certify and maintain a registry of all certified massage therapists and to promulgate regulations governing the criteria for certification as a massage therapist and the standards of professional conduct for certified massage therapists;

12. To promulgate regulations for the delegation of certain nursing tasks and procedures not involving assessment, evaluation or nursing judgment to an appropriately trained unlicensed person by and under the supervision of a registered nurse, who retains responsibility and accountability for such delegation;

13. To develop and revise as may be necessary, in coordination with the Boards of Medicine and Education, guidelines for the training of employees of a school board in the administration of insulin and glucagon for the purpose of assisting with routine insulin injections and providing emergency treatment for life-threatening hypoglycemia. The first set of such guidelines shall be finalized by September 1, 1999, and shall be made available to local school boards for a fee not to exceed the costs of publication;

14. To enter into the Nurse Licensure Compact as set forth in this chapter and to promulgate regulations for its implementation;

15. To collect, store and make available nursing workforce information regarding the various categories of nurses certified, licensed or registered pursuant to § 54.1-3012.1;

16. To expedite application processing, to the extent possible, for an applicant for licensure or certification by the Board upon submission of evidence that the applicant, who is licensed or certified in another state, is relocating to the Commonwealth pursuant to a spouse's official military orders;

17. To register medication aides and promulgate regulations governing the criteria for such registration and standards of conduct for medication aides;

18. To approve training programs for medication aides to include requirements for instructional personnel, curriculum, continuing education, and a competency evaluation;

19. To set guidelines for the collection of data by all approved nursing education programs and to compile this data in an annual report. The data shall include but not be limited to enrollment, graduation rate, attrition rate, and number of qualified applicants who are denied admission; and

20. To develop, in consultation with the Board of Pharmacy, guidelines for the training of employees of child day programs as defined in § 63.2-100 and regulated by the State Board of Social Services or the Child Day Care Council in the administration of prescription drugs as defined in the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.). Such training programs shall be taught by a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, or pharmacist.; and

21. In order to protect the privacy and security of health professionals licensed, registered or certified under this chapter, to promulgate regulations permitting use on identification badges of first name and first letter only of last name and appropriate title when practicing in hospital emergency departments, in psychiatric and mental health units and programs, or in health care facility units offering treatment for patients in custody of state or local law-enforcement agencies.

2.  That the Enterprise Application Public-Private Partnership Office shall take appropriate action to prevent the sale of a list of addresses and other personal information, other than the public addresses collected pursuant to subsection C of § 54.1-2400.02 of the Code of Virginia, of individuals licensed, registered, or certified by any regulatory board under the Department of Health Professions by Virginia Interactive or any other private entity.