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2020 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Health Professions

Barker (Chair), Saslaw, Newman, Edwards, Lewis, Dunnavant, Suetterlein

Clerk: Patty Lung, Catherine Dent
Staff: Julia Carlton, Anna Moir
Date of Meeting: January 17, 2020
Time and Place: 8:30 am - Subcommittee Room 2, 5th Fl. Pocahontas Bldg.

S.B. 120

Patron: Barker

Programs to address career fatigue and wellness in certain health care providers; civil immunity. Expands civil immunity for health care professionals serving as members of or consultants to entities that function primarily to review, evaluate, or make recommendations related to health care services to include health care professionals serving as members of or consultants to entities that function primarily to address issues related to career fatigue and wellness in health care professionals licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine or licensed as a physician assistant. The bill also clarifies that, absent evidence indicating a reasonable probability that a health care professional who is a participant in a professional program to address issues related to career fatigue or wellness is not competent to continue in practice or is a danger to himself, his patients, or the public, participation in such a professional program does not trigger the requirement that the health care professional be reported to the Department of Health Professions. The bill contains an emergency clause.

EMERGENCY

S.B. 122

Patron: Barker

Teledentistry. Defines "teledentistry," establishes requirements for the practice of teledentistry, establishes requirements for the taking of dental scans for use in teledentistry by dental scan technicians, and clarifies requirements related to the use of digital work orders for dental appliances in the practice of teledentistry. The bill also requires the Board of Dentistry to review all applications for renewal of a license to identify those applicants who are engaged in the practice of teledentistry and report such information annually, by October 1, to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Joint Commission on Health Care.

S.B. 210

Patron: Locke

Teledentistry. Defines "teledentistry," establishes requirements for the practice of teledentistry, establishes requirements for the taking of dental scans for use in teledentistry by dental scan technicians, and clarifies requirements related to the use of digital work orders for dental appliances in the practice of teledentistry. The bill also requires the Board of Dentistry to review all applications for renewal of a license to identify those applicants who deliver dental services through teledentistry and report such information annually, by October 1, to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Joint Commission on Health Care.

S.B. 264

Patron: Bell

Certified registered nurse anesthetists; prescriptive authority. Authorizes certified registered nurse anesthetists to prescribe Schedule II through Schedule VI controlled substances and devices, provided such prescribing is in accordance with requirements for practice by certified registered nurse anesthetists under the supervision of a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, or dentistry.

S.B. 270

Patron: Bell


Practice of pharmacy; regulation by Board of Pharmacy; report. Provides that compounding of drugs provided to the Department of Corrections for the purpose of carrying out an execution by lethal injection shall constitute the practice of pharmacy and be subject to the requirements of the Drug Control Act and the jurisdiction of the Board of Pharmacy. The bill provides that only outsourcing facilities may compound such drugs; currently, both pharmacies and outsourcing facilities may compound such drugs. The bill also clarifies that the Board of Pharmacy may inspect any pharmacy or other place where drugs, cosmetics, or devices are manufactured, stored, or dispensed in response to complaints received by the Board, in any case in which the Board has reason to believe that the pharmacy or such other place has violated any state or federal law or as otherwise deemed necessary by the Board to protect the health and safety of the public. The bill amends the membership of the Board of Health to include a pharmacist with experience in compounding, requires the Board of Health to educate the public about safe use of compounded drugs, and requires the Board of Health and the Board of Pharmacy to report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on actions taken to (i) ensure the safety and quality of compounded drugs produced by compounding pharmacies and outsourcing facilities located in the Commonwealth and compounding pharmacies and outsourcing facilities located outside the Commonwealth that provide compounded drugs to patients in the Commonwealth; (ii) reduce illegal use of opioids and opioid abuse in the Commonwealth; and (iii) implement provisions of and ensure compliance with the requirements of Title II of the federal Drug Supply Chain Security Act of 2013 related to prescription drug identification, tracing, and verification.

S.B. 431

Patron: Surovell

Provision of mental health services to a minor; access to health records. Prohibits a health care provider from refusing to provide mental health services to a minor on the basis that the parents of such minor refuse to agree to limit their access to such minor's health care records or request that such health care provider testify in a court proceeding regarding the treatment of the minor.

S.B. 538

Patron: Newman

Drug Control Act; Schedule I. Adds certain chemicals to Schedule I of the Drug Control Act. The Board of Pharmacy has added these substances to Schedule I in an expedited regulatory process. A substance added via this process is removed from the schedule after 18 months unless a general law is enacted adding the substance to the schedule.

S.B. 540

Patron: Vogel


Health professionals; unprofessional conduct; reporting. Requires 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 to report to the Department of Health Professions any information of which he may become aware in his professional capacity that indicates a reasonable belief that a health care provider is in need of treatment or has been admitted as a patient for treatment of substance abuse or psychiatric illness that may render the health professional a danger to himself, the public or his patients, or that he determines, following review and any necessary investigation or consultation with the appropriate internal boards or committees authorized to impose disciplinary action on a health professional, indicates that there is a reasonable probability that such health professional may have engaged in unethical, fraudulent, or unprofessional conduct. Current law requires information to be reported if the information indicates, after reasonable investigation and consultation with the appropriate internal boards or committees authorized to impose disciplinary action on a health professional, a reasonable probability that such health professional may have engaged in unethical, fraudulent, or unprofessional conduct.

 

 

S.B. 663

Patron: Surovell

Practice of medicine and other healing arts; provision of litigation assistance. Requires practitioners of medicine and other healing arts to provide litigation assistance to treated patients and their attorneys. Such litigation assistance includes providing a legal consult fee schedule upon request, scheduling and participating in meetings with a treated patient's attorney upon request, participating in trial or de bene esse depositions as needed, and providing a written estimate of the cost of the patient's medical services related to the litigation. The bill prohibits providers from refusing services to a patient who is insured or otherwise has the ability to pay for provided services on the ground that such person was involved in an incident that is the subject of litigation or could result in litigation.

S.B. 884

Patron: DeSteph

Teledentistry. Defines "teledentistry," establishes requirements for the practice of teledentistry, establishes requirements for the taking of dental scans for use in teledentistry by dental scan technicians, and clarifies requirements related to the use of digital work orders for dental appliances in the practice of teledentistry. The bill also requires the Board of Dentistry to review all applications for renewal of a license to identify those applicants who deliver dental services through teledentistry and report such information annually, by October 1, to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Joint Commission on Health Care.