SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2016 SESSION


CHAPTER 495
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-2901, 54.1-2914, 54.1-2957, 54.1-2957.01, 54.1-2957.03, 54.1-2957.9, and 54.1-3401 of the Code of Virginia and to repeal § 32.1-11.5 of the Code of Virginia, relating to nurse practitioners; certified nurse midwives; practicing without a patient care team.
[S 463]
Approved March 25, 2016

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 54.1-2901, 54.1-2914, 54.1-2957, 54.1-2957.01, 54.1-2957.03, 54.1-2957.9, and 54.1-3401 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 54.1-2901. Exceptions and exemptions generally.

A. The provisions of this chapter shall not prevent or prohibit:

1. Any person entitled to practice his profession under any prior law on June 24, 1944, from continuing such practice within the scope of the definition of his particular school of practice;

2. Any person licensed to practice naturopathy prior to June 30, 1980, from continuing such practice in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board;

3. Any licensed nurse practitioner from rendering care in collaboration and consultation with a patient care team physician as part of a patient care team pursuant to § 54.1-2957 or any nurse practitioner licensed by the Boards of Nursing and Medicine in the category of certified nurse midwife practicing pursuant to subsection G of § 54.1-2957 when such services are authorized by regulations promulgated jointly by the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing;

4. Any registered professional nurse, licensed nurse practitioner, graduate laboratory technician or other technical personnel who have been properly trained from rendering care or services within the scope of their usual professional activities which shall include the taking of blood, the giving of intravenous infusions and intravenous injections, and the insertion of tubes when performed under the orders of a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant;

5. Any dentist, pharmacist or optometrist from rendering care or services within the scope of his usual professional activities;

6. Any practitioner licensed or certified by the Board from delegating to personnel supervised by him, such activities or functions as are nondiscretionary and do not require the exercise of professional judgment for their performance and which are usually or customarily delegated to such persons by practitioners of the healing arts, if such activities or functions are authorized by and performed for such practitioners of the healing arts and responsibility for such activities or functions is assumed by such practitioners of the healing arts;

7. The rendering of medical advice or information through telecommunications from a physician licensed to practice medicine in Virginia or an adjoining state, or from a licensed nurse practitioner, to emergency medical personnel acting in an emergency situation;

8. The domestic administration of family remedies;

9. The giving or use of massages, steam baths, dry heat rooms, infrared heat or ultraviolet lamps in public or private health clubs and spas;

10. The manufacture or sale of proprietary medicines in this Commonwealth by licensed pharmacists or druggists;

11. The advertising or sale of commercial appliances or remedies;

12. The fitting by nonitinerant persons or manufacturers of artificial eyes, limbs or other apparatus or appliances or the fitting of plaster cast counterparts of deformed portions of the body by a nonitinerant bracemaker or prosthetist for the purpose of having a three-dimensional record of the deformity, when such bracemaker or prosthetist has received a prescription from a licensed physician, licensed nurse practitioner, or licensed physician assistant directing the fitting of such casts and such activities are conducted in conformity with the laws of Virginia;

13. Any person from the rendering of first aid or medical assistance in an emergency in the absence of a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy under the provisions of this chapter;

14. The practice of the religious tenets of any church in the ministration to the sick and suffering by mental or spiritual means without the use of any drug or material remedy, whether gratuitously or for compensation;

15. Any legally qualified out-of-state or foreign practitioner from meeting in consultation with legally licensed practitioners in this Commonwealth;

16. Any practitioner of the healing arts licensed or certified and in good standing with the applicable regulatory agency in another state or Canada when that practitioner of the healing arts is in Virginia temporarily and such practitioner has been issued a temporary license or certification by the Board from practicing medicine or the duties of the profession for which he is licensed or certified (i) in a summer camp or in conjunction with patients who are participating in recreational activities, (ii) while participating in continuing educational programs prescribed by the Board, or (iii) by rendering at any site any health care services within the limits of his license, voluntarily and without compensation, to any patient of any clinic which is organized in whole or in part for the delivery of health care services without charge as provided in § 54.1-106;

17. The performance of the duties of any active duty health care provider in active service in the army, navy, coast guard, marine corps, air force, or public health service of the United States at any public or private health care facility while such individual is so commissioned or serving and in accordance with his official military orders;

18. Any masseur, who publicly represents himself as such, from performing services within the scope of his usual professional activities and in conformance with state law;

19. Any person from performing services in the lawful conduct of his particular profession or business under state law;

20. Any person from rendering emergency care pursuant to the provisions of § 8.01-225;

21. Qualified emergency medical services personnel, when acting within the scope of their certification, and licensed health care practitioners, when acting within their scope of practice, from following Durable Do Not Resuscitate Orders issued in accordance with § 54.1-2987.1 and Board of Health regulations, or licensed health care practitioners from following any other written order of a physician not to resuscitate a patient in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest;

22. Any commissioned or contract medical officer of the army, navy, coast guard or air force rendering services voluntarily and without compensation while deemed to be licensed pursuant to § 54.1-106;

23. Any provider of a chemical dependency treatment program who is certified as an "acupuncture detoxification specialist" by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association or an equivalent certifying body, from administering auricular acupuncture treatment under the appropriate supervision of a National Acupuncture Detoxification Association certified licensed physician or licensed acupuncturist;

24. Any employee of any assisted living facility who is certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) acting in compliance with the patient's individualized service plan and with the written order of the attending physician not to resuscitate a patient in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest;

25. Any person working as a health assistant under the direction of a licensed medical or osteopathic doctor within the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice or local correctional facilities;

26. Any employee of a school board, authorized by a prescriber and trained in the administration of insulin and glucagon, when, upon the authorization of a prescriber and the written request of the parents as defined in § 22.1-1, assisting with the administration of insulin or administrating glucagon to a student diagnosed as having diabetes and who requires insulin injections during the school day or for whom glucagon has been prescribed for the emergency treatment of hypoglycemia;

27. Any practitioner of the healing arts or other profession regulated by the Board from rendering free health care to an underserved population of Virginia who (i) does not regularly practice his profession in Virginia, (ii) holds a current valid license or certificate to practice his profession in another state, territory, district or possession of the United States, (iii) volunteers to provide free health care to an underserved area of the Commonwealth under the auspices of a publicly supported all volunteer, nonprofit organization that sponsors the provision of health care to populations of underserved people, (iv) files a copy of the license or certification issued in such other jurisdiction with the Board, (v) notifies the Board at least five business days prior to the voluntary provision of services of the dates and location of such service, and (vi) acknowledges, in writing, that such licensure exemption shall only be valid, in compliance with the Board's regulations, during the limited period that such free health care is made available through the volunteer, nonprofit organization on the dates and at the location filed with the Board. The Board may deny the right to practice in Virginia to any practitioner of the healing arts whose license or certificate has been previously suspended or revoked, who has been convicted of a felony or who is otherwise found to be in violation of applicable laws or regulations. However, the Board shall allow a practitioner of the healing arts who meets the above criteria to provide volunteer services without prior notice for a period of up to three days, provided the nonprofit organization verifies that the practitioner has a valid, unrestricted license in another state;

28. Any registered nurse, acting as an agent of the Department of Health, from obtaining specimens of sputum or other bodily fluid from persons in whom the diagnosis of active tuberculosis disease, as defined in § 32.1-49.1, is suspected and submitting orders for testing of such specimens to the Division of Consolidated Laboratories or other public health laboratories, designated by the State Health Commissioner, for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of tubercle bacilli as defined in § 32.1-49.1;

29. Any physician of medicine or osteopathy or nurse practitioner from delegating to a registered nurse under his supervision the screening and testing of children for elevated blood-lead levels when such testing is conducted (i) in accordance with a written protocol between the physician or nurse practitioner and the registered nurse and (ii) in compliance with the Board of Health's regulations promulgated pursuant to §§ 32.1-46.1 and 32.1-46.2. Any follow-up testing or treatment shall be conducted at the direction of a physician or nurse practitioner;

30. Any practitioner of one of the professions regulated by the Board of Medicine who is in good standing with the applicable regulatory agency in another state or Canada from engaging in the practice of that profession when the practitioner is in Virginia temporarily with an out-of-state athletic team or athlete for the duration of the athletic tournament, game, or event in which the team or athlete is competing;

31. Any person from performing state or federally funded health care tasks directed by the consumer, which are typically self-performed, for an individual who lives in a private residence and who, by reason of disability, is unable to perform such tasks but who is capable of directing the appropriate performance of such tasks; or

32. Any practitioner of one of the professions regulated by the Board of Medicine who is in good standing with the applicable regulatory agency in another state from engaging in the practice of that profession in Virginia with a patient who is being transported to or from a Virginia hospital for care.

B. Notwithstanding any provision of law or regulation to the contrary, a nurse practitioner licensed by the Boards of Nursing and Medicine in the category of certified nurse midwife may practice without the requirement for physician supervision while participating in a pilot program approved by the Board of Health pursuant to § 32.1-11.5.

§ 54.1-2914. Sale of controlled substances and medical devices or appliances; requirements for vision care services.

A. A practitioner of the healing arts shall not engage in selling controlled substances unless he is licensed to do so by the Board of Pharmacy. However, this prohibition shall not apply to a doctor of medicine, osteopathy or podiatry who administers controlled substances to his patients or provides controlled substances to his patient in a bona fide medical emergency or when pharmaceutical services are not available. Practitioners who sell or dispense controlled substances shall be subject to inspection by the Department of Health Professions to ensure compliance with Chapters 33 (§ 54.1-3300 et seq.) and 34 (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.) of this title and the Board of Pharmacy's regulations. This subsection shall not apply to physicians acting on behalf of the Virginia Department of Health or local health departments.

B. A practitioner of the healing arts who may lawfully sell medical appliances or devices shall not sell such appliances or devices to persons who are not his own patients and shall not sell such articles to his own patients either for his own convenience or for the purpose of supplementing his income. This subsection shall not apply to physicians acting on behalf of the Virginia Department of Health or local health departments.

C. A practitioner of the healing arts may, from within the practitioner's office, engage in selling or promoting the sale of eyeglasses and may dispense contact lenses. Only those practitioners of the healing arts who engage in the examination of eyes and prescribing of eyeglasses may engage in the sale or promotion of eyeglasses. Practitioners shall not employ any unlicensed person to fill prescriptions for eyeglasses within the practitioner's office except as provided in subdivision A 6 of § 54.1-2901. A practitioner may also own, in whole or in part, an optical dispensary located adjacent to or at a distance from his office.

D. Any practitioner of the healing arts engaging in the examination of eyes and prescribing of eyeglasses shall give the patient a copy of any prescription for eyeglasses and inform the patient of his right to have the prescription filled at the establishment of his choice. No practitioner who owns, in whole or in part, an establishment dispensing eyeglasses shall make any statement or take any action, directly or indirectly, that infringes on the patient's right to have a prescription filled at an establishment other than the one in which the practitioner has an ownership interest.

Disclosure of ownership interest by a practitioner as required by § 54.1-2964 or participation by the practitioner in contractual arrangements with third-party payors or purchasers of vision care services shall not constitute a violation of this subsection.

§ 54.1-2957. Licensure and practice of nurse practitioners; practice agreements.

A. As used in this section:

"Collaboration" means the communication and decision-making process among members of a patient care team related to the treatment and care of a patient and includes (i) communication of data and information about the treatment and care of a patient, including exchange of clinical observations and assessments, and (ii) development of an appropriate plan of care, including decisions regarding the health care provided, accessing and assessment of appropriate additional resources or expertise, and arrangement of appropriate referrals, testing, or studies.

"Consultation" means the communicating of data and information, exchanging of clinical observations and assessments, accessing and assessing of additional resources and expertise, problem-solving, and arranging for referrals, testing, or studies.

B. The Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing shall jointly prescribe the regulations governing the licensure of nurse practitioners. It shall be unlawful for a person to practice as a nurse practitioner in the Commonwealth unless he holds such a joint license.

B. A C. Except as provided in subsection G, a nurse practitioner shall only practice as part of a patient care team. Each member of a patient care team shall have specific responsibilities related to the care of the patient or patients and shall provide health care services within the scope of his usual professional activities. Nurse practitioners practicing as part of a patient care team shall maintain appropriate collaboration and consultation, as evidenced in a written or electronic practice agreement, with at least one patient care team physician. Nurse practitioners who are certified registered nurse anesthetists shall practice under the supervision of a licensed doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, or dentistry. Nurse practitioners appointed as medical examiners pursuant to § 32.1-282 shall practice in collaboration with a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine who has been appointed to serve as a medical examiner pursuant to § 32.1-282. Collaboration and consultation among nurse practitioners and patient care team physicians may be provided through telemedicine as described in § 38.2-3418.16. Practice of patient care teams in all settings shall include the periodic review of patient charts or electronic health records and may include visits to the site where health care is delivered in the manner and at the frequency determined by the patient care team.

Physicians on patient care teams may require that a nurse practitioner be covered by a professional liability insurance policy with limits equal to the current limitation on damages set forth in § 8.01-581.15.

Service on a patient care team by a patient care team member shall not, by the existence of such service alone, establish or create liability for the actions or inactions of other team members.

C. D. The Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing shall jointly promulgate regulations specifying collaboration and consultation among physicians and nurse practitioners working as part of patient care teams that shall include the development of, and periodic review and revision of, a written or electronic practice agreement; guidelines for availability and ongoing communications that define consultation among the collaborating parties and the patient; and periodic joint evaluation of the services delivered. Practice agreements shall include a provision for appropriate physician input in complex clinical cases and patient emergencies and for referrals. Evidence of a practice agreement shall be maintained by a nurse practitioner and provided to the Boards upon request. For nurse practitioners providing care to patients within a hospital or health care system, the practice agreement may be included as part of documents delineating the nurse practitioner's clinical privileges or the electronic or written delineation of duties and responsibilities in collaboration and consultation with a patient care team physician.

D. E. The Boards may issue a license by endorsement to an applicant to practice as a nurse practitioner if the applicant has been licensed as a nurse practitioner under the laws of another state and, in the opinion of the Boards, the applicant meets the qualifications for licensure required of nurse practitioners in the Commonwealth.

E. F. Pending the outcome of the next National Specialty Examination, the Boards may jointly grant temporary licensure to nurse practitioners.

F. As used in this section:

"Collaboration" means the communication and decision-making process among members of a patient care team related to the treatment and care of a patient and includes (i) communication of data and information about the treatment and care of a patient, including exchange of clinical observations and assessments; and (ii) development of an appropriate plan of care, including decisions regarding the health care provided, accessing and assessment of appropriate additional resources or expertise, and arrangement of appropriate referrals, testing, or studies.

"Consultation" means the communicating of data and information, exchanging of clinical observations and assessments, accessing and assessing of additional resources and expertise, problem-solving, and arranging for referrals, testing, or studies.

G. Nurse practitioners licensed by the Boards of Medicine and Nursing in the category of certified nurse midwife shall practice in consultation with a licensed physician in accordance with a practice agreement between the nurse practitioner and the licensed physician. Such practice agreement shall address the availability of the physician for routine and urgent consultation on patient care. Evidence of a practice agreement shall be maintained by a nurse practitioner and provided to the Boards upon request. The Boards shall jointly promulgate regulations, consistent with the Standards for the Practice of Midwifery set by the American College of Nurse-Midwives, governing such practice.

§ 54.1-2957.01. Prescription of certain controlled substances and devices by licensed nurse practitioners.

A. In accordance with the provisions of this section and pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 33 (§ 54.1-3300 et seq.), a licensed nurse practitioner, other than a certified registered nurse anesthetist, shall have the authority to prescribe Schedule II through Schedule VI controlled substances and devices as set forth in Chapter 34 (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.). Nurse practitioners shall have such prescriptive authority upon the provision to the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing of such evidence as they may jointly require that the nurse practitioner has entered into and is, at the time of writing a prescription, a party to a written or electronic practice agreement with a patient care team physician that clearly states the prescriptive practices of the nurse practitioner. Such written or electronic practice agreements shall include the controlled substances the nurse practitioner is or is not authorized to prescribe and may restrict such prescriptive authority as described in the practice agreement. Evidence of a practice agreement shall be maintained by a nurse practitioner pursuant to § 54.1-2957. Practice agreements authorizing a nurse practitioner to prescribe controlled substances or devices pursuant to this section shall either be signed by the patient care team physician who is practicing as part of a patient care team with the nurse practitioner or shall clearly state the name of the patient care team physician who has entered into the practice agreement with the nurse practitioner.

B. It shall be unlawful for a nurse practitioner to prescribe controlled substances or devices pursuant to this section unless such prescription is authorized by the written or electronic practice agreement.

C. The Board of Nursing and the Board of Medicine shall promulgate such regulations governing the prescriptive authority of nurse practitioners as are deemed reasonable and necessary to ensure an appropriate standard of care for patients.

Regulations promulgated pursuant to this section shall include, at a minimum, such requirements as may be necessary to ensure continued nurse practitioner competency, which may include continuing education, testing, or any other requirement, and shall address the need to promote ethical practice, an appropriate standard of care, patient safety, the use of new pharmaceuticals, and appropriate communication with patients.

D. This section shall not limit the functions and procedures of certified registered nurse anesthetists or of any nurse practitioners which are otherwise authorized by law or regulation.

E. The following restrictions shall apply to any nurse practitioner authorized to prescribe drugs and devices pursuant to this section:

1. The nurse practitioner shall disclose to the patient at the initial encounter that he is a licensed nurse practitioner. Any member of a patient care team shall disclose, upon request of a patient or his legal representative, the name of the patient care team physician and information regarding how to contact the patient care team physician.

2. Physicians shall not serve as a patient care team physician on a patient care team at any one time to more than six nurse practitioners.

F. This section shall not prohibit a licensed nurse practitioner from administering controlled substances in compliance with the definition of "administer" in § 54.1-3401 or from receiving and dispensing manufacturers' professional samples of controlled substances in compliance with the provisions of this section.

G. Notwithstanding any provision of law or regulation to the contrary, a nurse practitioner licensed by the Boards of Nursing and Medicine in the category of certified nurse midwife and holding a license for prescriptive authority may prescribe (i) Schedules II through VI V controlled substances without the requirement for collaboration and consultation with a patient care team physician as part of a patient care team pursuant to § 54.1-2957 or a written or electronic practice agreement between the licensed nurse practitioner and a licensed physician while participating in a pilot program approved by the Board of Health pursuant to § 32.1-11.5 in accordance with any prescriptive authority included in a practice agreement with a licensed physician pursuant to subsection G of § 54.1-2957 and (ii) Schedule VI controlled substances without the requirement for inclusion of such prescriptive authority in a practice agreement.

§ 54.1-2957.03. Certified nurse midwives; required disclosures; liability.

A. As used in this section, "birthing center" means a facility outside a hospital that provides maternity services.

B. A certified nurse midwife who provides health care services to a patient outside of a hospital or birthing center, as defined in subsection E of § 32.1-11.5, shall disclose to that patient, when appropriate, information on health risks associated with births outside of a hospital or birthing center, including but not limited to risks associated with vaginal births after a prior cesarean section, breech births, births by women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, and births involving multiple gestation.

B. C. The certified nurse midwife who provided health care to a patient shall be liable for the midwife's negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions. Except as otherwise provided by law, any (i) doctor of medicine or osteopathy who did not collaborate or consult with the midwife regarding the patient and who has not previously treated the patient for this pregnancy, (ii) nurse, (iii) prehospital emergency medical personnel, or (iv) hospital as defined in § 32.1-123 or agents thereof, who provides screening and stabilization health care services to a patient as a result of a certified nurse midwife's negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions, shall be immune from liability for acts or omissions constituting ordinary negligence.

§ 54.1-2957.9. Regulation of the practice of midwifery.

The Board shall adopt regulations governing the practice of midwifery, upon consultation with the Advisory Board on Midwifery. The regulations shall (i) address the requirements for licensure to practice midwifery, including the establishment of standards of care, (ii) be consistent with the North American Registry of Midwives' current job description for the profession and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives' standards of practice, except that prescriptive authority and the possession and administration of controlled substances shall be prohibited, (iii) ensure independent practice, (iv) require midwives to disclose to their patients, when appropriate, options for consultation and referral to a physician and evidence-based information on health risks associated with birth of a child outside of a hospital or birthing center, as defined in subsection E of § 32.1-11.5 54.1-2957.03, including but not limited to risks associated with vaginal births after a prior cesarean section, breech births, births by women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, and births involving multiple gestation, (v) provide for an appropriate license fee, and (vi) include requirements for licensure renewal and continuing education. Such regulations shall not (a) require any agreement, written or otherwise, with another health care professional or (b) require the assessment of a woman who is seeking midwifery services by another health care professional.

License renewal shall be contingent upon maintaining a Certified Professional Midwife certification.

§ 54.1-3401. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Administer" means the direct application of a controlled substance, whether by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other means, to the body of a patient or research subject by (i) a practitioner or by his authorized agent and under his direction or (ii) the patient or research subject at the direction and in the presence of the practitioner.

"Advertisement" means all representations disseminated in any manner or by any means, other than by labeling, for the purpose of inducing, or which are likely to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase of drugs or devices.

"Agent" means an authorized person who acts on behalf of or at the direction of a manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser. It does not include a common or contract carrier, public warehouseman, or employee of the carrier or warehouseman.

"Anabolic steroid" means any drug or hormonal substance, chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone, other than estrogens, progestins, corticosteroids, and dehydroepiandrosterone.

"Animal" means any nonhuman animate being endowed with the power of voluntary action.

"Automated drug dispensing system" means a mechanical or electronic system that performs operations or activities, other than compounding or administration, relating to pharmacy services, including the storage, dispensing, or distribution of drugs and the collection, control, and maintenance of all transaction information, to provide security and accountability for such drugs.

"Biological product" means a virus, therapeutic serum, toxin, antitoxin, vaccine, blood, blood component or derivative, allergenic product, protein other than a chemically synthesized polypeptide, or analogous product, or arsphenamine or any derivative of arsphenamine or any other trivalent organic arsenic compound, applicable to the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease or condition of human beings.

"Biosimilar" means a biological product that is highly similar to a specific reference biological product, notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive compounds, such that there are no clinically meaningful differences between the reference biological product and the biological product that has been licensed as a biosimilar pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 262(k) in terms of safety, purity, and potency of the product.

"Board" means the Board of Pharmacy.

"Bulk drug substance" means any substance that is represented for use, and that, when used in the compounding, manufacturing, processing, or packaging of a drug, becomes an active ingredient or a finished dosage form of the drug; however, "bulk drug substance" shall not include intermediates that are used in the synthesis of such substances.

"Change of ownership" of an existing entity permitted, registered, or licensed by the Board means (i) the sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the entity or of any corporation that owns or controls the entity; (ii) the creation of a partnership by a sole proprietor, the dissolution of a partnership, or change in partnership composition; (iii) the acquisition or disposal of 50 percent or more of the outstanding shares of voting stock of a corporation owning the entity or of the parent corporation of a wholly owned subsidiary owning the entity, except that this shall not apply to any corporation the voting stock of which is actively traded on any securities exchange or in any over-the-counter market; (iv) the merger of a corporation owning the entity or of the parent corporation of a wholly-owned subsidiary owning the entity with another business or corporation; or (v) the expiration or forfeiture of a corporation's charter.

"Compounding" means the combining of two or more ingredients to fabricate such ingredients into a single preparation and includes the mixing, assembling, packaging, or labeling of a drug or device (i) by a pharmacist, or within a permitted pharmacy, pursuant to a valid prescription issued for a medicinal or therapeutic purpose in the context of a bona fide practitioner-patient-pharmacist relationship, or in expectation of receiving a valid prescription based on observed historical patterns of prescribing and dispensing; (ii) by a practitioner of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, dentistry, or veterinary medicine as an incident to his administering or dispensing, if authorized to dispense, a controlled substance in the course of his professional practice; or (iii) for the purpose of, or as incident to, research, teaching, or chemical analysis and not for sale or for dispensing. The mixing, diluting, or reconstituting of a manufacturer's product drugs for the purpose of administration to a patient, when performed by a practitioner of medicine or osteopathy licensed under Chapter 29 (§ 54.1-2900 et seq.), a person supervised by such practitioner pursuant to subdivision A 6 or A 19 of § 54.1-2901, or a person supervised by such practitioner or a licensed nurse practitioner or physician assistant pursuant to subdivision A 4 of § 54.1-2901 shall not be considered compounding.

"Controlled substance" means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through VI of this chapter. The term shall not include distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco as those terms are defined or used in Title 3.2 or Title 4.1. The term "controlled substance" includes a controlled substance analog that has been placed into Schedule I or II by the Board pursuant to the regulatory authority in subsection D of § 54.1-3443.

"Controlled substance analog" means a substance the chemical structure of which is substantially similar to the chemical structure of a controlled substance in Schedule I or II and either (i) which has a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in Schedule I or II or (ii) with respect to a particular person, which such person represents or intends to have a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in Schedule I or II. "Controlled substance analog" does not include (a) any substance for which there is an approved new drug application as defined under § 505 of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 355) or that is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to §§ 501, 502, and 503 of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 351, 352, and 353) and 21 C.F.R. Part 330; (b) with respect to a particular person, any substance for which an exemption is in effect for investigational use for that person under § 505 of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to the extent that the conduct with respect to that substance is pursuant to such exemption; or (c) any substance to the extent not intended for human consumption before such an exemption takes effect with respect to that substance.

"DEA" means the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, or its successor agency.

"Deliver" or "delivery" means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer of any item regulated by this chapter, whether or not there exists an agency relationship.

"Device" means instruments, apparatus, and contrivances, including their components, parts, and accessories, intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or animals or to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or animals.

"Dialysis care technician" or "dialysis patient care technician" means an individual who is certified by an organization approved by the Board of Health Professions pursuant to Chapter 27.01 (§ 54.1-2729.1 et seq.) and who, under the supervision of a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or a registered nurse, assists in the care of patients undergoing renal dialysis treatments in a Medicare-certified renal dialysis facility.

"Dialysis solution" means either the commercially available, unopened, sterile solutions whose purpose is to be instilled into the peritoneal cavity during the medical procedure known as peritoneal dialysis, or commercially available solutions whose purpose is to be used in the performance of hemodialysis not to include any solutions administered to the patient intravenously.

"Dispense" means to deliver a drug to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for that delivery. However, dispensing shall not include the transportation of drugs mixed, diluted, or reconstituted in accordance with this chapter to other sites operated by such practitioner or that practitioner's medical practice for the purpose of administration of such drugs to patients of the practitioner or that practitioner's medical practice at such other sites. For practitioners of medicine or osteopathy, "dispense" shall only include the provision of drugs by a practitioner to patients to take with them away from the practitioner's place of practice.

"Dispenser" means a practitioner who dispenses.

"Distribute" means to deliver other than by administering or dispensing a controlled substance.

"Distributor" means a person who distributes.

"Drug" means (i) articles or substances recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia National Formulary or official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or any supplement to any of them; (ii) articles or substances intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or animals; (iii) articles or substances, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or animals; (iv) articles or substances intended for use as a component of any article specified in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or (v) a biological product. "Drug" does not include devices or their components, parts, or accessories.

"Drug product" means a specific drug in dosage form from a known source of manufacture, whether by brand or therapeutically equivalent drug product name.

"Electronic transmission prescription" means any prescription, other than an oral or written prescription or a prescription transmitted by facsimile machine, that is electronically transmitted directly to a pharmacy without interception or intervention from a third party from a practitioner authorized to prescribe or from one pharmacy to another pharmacy.

"Facsimile (FAX) prescription" means a written prescription or order that is transmitted by an electronic device over telephone lines that sends the exact image to the receiving pharmacy in hard copy form.

"FDA" means the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"Hashish oil" means any oily extract containing one or more cannabinoids, but shall not include any such extract with a tetrahydrocannabinol content of less than 12 percent by weight.

"Immediate precursor" means a substance which the Board of Pharmacy has found to be and by regulation designates as being the principal compound commonly used or produced primarily for use, and which is an immediate chemical intermediary used or likely to be used in the manufacture of a controlled substance, the control of which is necessary to prevent, curtail, or limit manufacture.

"Interchangeable" means a biosimilar that meets safety standards for determining interchangeability pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 262(k)(4).

"Label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container of any article. A requirement made by or under authority of this chapter that any word, statement, or other information appear on the label shall not be considered to be complied with unless such word, statement, or other information also appears on the outside container or wrapper, if any, of the retail package of such article or is easily legible through the outside container or wrapper.

"Labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter on an article or any of its containers or wrappers, or accompanying such article.

"Manufacture" means the production, preparation, propagation, conversion, or processing of any item regulated by this chapter, either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container. This term does not include compounding.

"Manufacturer" means every person who manufactures.

"Marijuana" means any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis whether growing or not, its seeds, or its resin; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or its resin. Marijuana shall not include any oily extract containing one or more cannabinoids unless such extract contains less than 12 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol by weight, nor shall marijuana include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalk, or oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, unless such stalks, fiber, oil, or cake is combined with other parts of plants of the genus Cannabis. Marijuana shall not include industrial hemp as defined in § 3.2-4112 that is possessed, cultivated, or manufactured by a grower licensed pursuant to § 3.2-4115.

"Medical equipment supplier" means any person, as defined in § 1-230, engaged in the delivery to the ultimate consumer, pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, of hypodermic syringes and needles, medicinal oxygen, Schedule VI controlled devices, those Schedule VI controlled substances with no medicinal properties that are used for the operation and cleaning of medical equipment, solutions for peritoneal dialysis, and sterile water or saline for irrigation.

"Narcotic drug" means any of the following, whether produced directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of vegetable origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis: (i) opium, opiates, and any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium or opiates; (ii) any salt, compound, isomer, derivative, or preparation thereof which is chemically equivalent or identical with any of the substances referred to in clause (i), but not including the isoquinoline alkaloids of opium; (iii) opium poppy and poppy straw; (iv) coca leaves and any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of coca leaves, and any salt, compound, isomer, derivative, or preparation thereof which is chemically equivalent or identical with any of these substances, but not including decocainized coca leaves or extraction of coca leaves which do not contain cocaine or ecgonine.

"New drug" means (i) any drug, except a new animal drug or an animal feed bearing or containing a new animal drug, the composition of which is such that such drug is not generally recognized, among experts qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of drugs, as safe and effective for use under the conditions prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the labeling, except that such a drug not so recognized shall not be deemed to be a "new drug" if at any time prior to the enactment of this chapter it was subject to the Food and Drugs Act of June 30, 1906, as amended, and if at such time its labeling contained the same representations concerning the conditions of its use, or (ii) any drug, except a new animal drug or an animal feed bearing or containing a new animal drug, the composition of which is such that such drug, as a result of investigations to determine its safety and effectiveness for use under such conditions, has become so recognized, but which has not, otherwise than in such investigations, been used to a material extent or for a material time under such conditions.

"Nuclear medicine technologist" means an individual who holds a current certification with the American Registry of Radiological Technologists or the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board.

"Official compendium" means the official United States Pharmacopoeia National Formulary, official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or any supplement to any of them.

"Official written order" means an order written on a form provided for that purpose by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under any laws of the United States making provision therefor, if such order forms are authorized and required by federal law, and if no such order form is provided then on an official form provided for that purpose by the Board of Pharmacy.

"Opiate" means any substance having an addiction-forming or addiction-sustaining liability similar to morphine or being capable of conversion into a drug having such addiction-forming or addiction-sustaining liability. It does not include, unless specifically designated as controlled under Article 4 (§ 54.1-3437 et seq.), the dextrorotatory isomer of 3-methoxy-n-methylmorphinan and its salts (dextromethorphan). It does include its racemic and levorotatory forms.

"Opium poppy" means the plant of the species Papaver somniferum L., except the seeds thereof.

"Original package" means the unbroken container or wrapping in which any drug or medicine is enclosed together with label and labeling, put up by or for the manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor for use in the delivery or display of such article.

"Outsourcing facility" means a facility that is engaged in the compounding of sterile drugs and is currently registered as an outsourcing facility with the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and that complies with all applicable requirements of federal and state law, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

"Person" means both the plural and singular, as the case demands, and includes an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental agency, trust, or other institution or entity.

"Pharmacist-in-charge" means the person who, being licensed as a pharmacist, signs the application for a pharmacy permit and assumes full legal responsibility for the operation of the relevant pharmacy in a manner complying with the laws and regulations for the practice of pharmacy and the sale and dispensing of controlled substances; the "pharmacist-in-charge" shall personally supervise the pharmacy and the pharmacy's personnel as required by § 54.1-3432.

"Poppy straw" means all parts, except the seeds, of the opium poppy, after mowing.

"Practitioner" means a physician, dentist, licensed nurse practitioner pursuant to § 54.1-2957.01, licensed physician assistant pursuant to § 54.1-2952.1, pharmacist pursuant to § 54.1-3300, TPA-certified optometrist pursuant to Article 5 (§ 54.1-3222 et seq.) of Chapter 32, veterinarian, scientific investigator, or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense, prescribe and administer, or conduct research with respect to a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research in the Commonwealth.

"Prescriber" means a practitioner who is authorized pursuant to §§ 54.1-3303 and 54.1-3408 to issue a prescription.

"Prescription" means an order for drugs or medical supplies, written or signed or transmitted by word of mouth, telephone, telegraph, or other means of communication to a pharmacist by a duly licensed physician, dentist, veterinarian, or other practitioner authorized by law to prescribe and administer such drugs or medical supplies.

"Prescription drug" means any drug required by federal law or regulation to be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription, including finished dosage forms and active ingredients subject to § 503(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 353(b)).

"Production" or "produce" includes the manufacture, planting, cultivation, growing, or harvesting of a controlled substance or marijuana.

"Proprietary medicine" means a completely compounded nonprescription drug in its unbroken, original package which does not contain any controlled substance or marijuana as defined in this chapter and is not in itself poisonous, and which is sold, offered, promoted, or advertised directly to the general public by or under the authority of the manufacturer or primary distributor, under a trademark, trade name, or other trade symbol privately owned, and the labeling of which conforms to the requirements of this chapter and applicable federal law. However, this definition shall not include a drug that is only advertised or promoted professionally to licensed practitioners, a narcotic or drug containing a narcotic, a drug that may be dispensed only upon prescription or the label of which bears substantially the statement "Warning -- may be habit-forming," or a drug intended for injection.

"Radiopharmaceutical" means any drug that exhibits spontaneous disintegration of unstable nuclei with the emission of nuclear particles or photons and includes any non-radioactive reagent kit or radionuclide generator that is intended to be used in the preparation of any such substance, but does not include drugs such as carbon-containing compounds or potassium-containing salts that include trace quantities of naturally occurring radionuclides. The term also includes any biological product that is labeled with a radionuclide or intended solely to be labeled with a radionuclide.

"Reference biological product" means the single biological product licensed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 262(a) against which a biological product is evaluated in an application submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for licensure of biological products as biosimilar or interchangeable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 262(k).

"Sale" includes barter, exchange, or gift, or offer therefor, and each such transaction made by any person, whether as an individual, proprietor, agent, servant, or employee.

"Therapeutically equivalent drug products" means drug products that contain the same active ingredients and are identical in strength or concentration, dosage form, and route of administration and that are classified as being therapeutically equivalent by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pursuant to the definition of "therapeutically equivalent drug products" set forth in the most recent edition of the Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, otherwise known as the "Orange Book."

"USP-NF" means the current edition of the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary.

"Warehouser" means any person, other than a wholesale distributor, engaged in the business of selling or otherwise distributing prescription drugs or devices to any person who is not the ultimate user or consumer. No person shall be subject to any state or local tax by reason of this definition.

"Wholesale distribution" means distribution of prescription drugs to persons other than consumers or patients, subject to the exceptions set forth in § 54.1-3401.1.

"Wholesale distributor" means any person engaged in wholesale distribution of prescription drugs including, but not limited to, manufacturers; repackers; own-label distributors; private-label distributors; jobbers; brokers; warehouses, including manufacturers' and distributors' warehouses, chain drug warehouses conducting wholesale distributions, and wholesale drug warehouses; independent wholesale drug traders; and retail pharmacies conducting wholesale distributions. No person shall be subject to any state or local tax as a wholesale merchant by reason of this definition.

The words "drugs" and "devices" as used in Chapter 33 (§ 54.1-3300 et seq.) and in this chapter shall not include surgical or dental instruments, physical therapy equipment, X-ray apparatus, or glasses or lenses for the eyes.

The terms "pharmacist," "pharmacy," and "practice of pharmacy" as used in this chapter shall be defined as provided in Chapter 33 (§ 54.1-3300 et seq.) unless the context requires a different meaning.

2. That § 32.1-11.5 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.