                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SALE OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES AND MEDICAL DEVICES OR APPLIANCES; REQUIREMENTS
FOR VISION CARE SERVICES (§ 54.1-2914)

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 (&#xA7; 54.1-3300 et seq.) and
34 (&#xA7; 54.1-3400 et seq.) of this title and the Board of Pharmacy&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;s office except
as provided in subdivision A 6 of &#xA7; 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&#8217;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 &#xA7;
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.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 54-317; 1954, c. 627; 1958, c. 161; 1966, cc. 166, 657;
1968, c. 582; 1970, c. 69; 1973, c. 529; 1975, c. 508; 1978, c. 622; 1979, c.
727; 1980, c. 157; 1985, c. 96; 1986, c. 86; 1988, cc. 765, 904; 1989, c. 510;
1994, c. 70; 1998, c. 580; 2001, cc. 268, 858; 2005, c. 163; 2016, c. 495.