                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS RENDERING SERVICES TO PATIENTS OF CERTAIN CLINICS AND
ADMINISTRATORS OF SUCH SERVICES EXEMPT FROM LIABILITY (§ 54.1-106)

A. No person who is licensed or certified by the Boards of/for Audiology and
Speech-Language Pathology; Counseling; Dentistry; Medicine; Nursing; Optometry;
Opticians; Pharmacy; Hearing Aid Specialists; Psychology; or Social Work or who
holds a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing issued by the Board
of Nursing who renders at any site any health care services within the limits of
his license, certification or licensure privilege, 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 or any clinic for
the indigent and uninsured that is organized for the delivery of primary health
care services as a federally qualified health center designated by the Centers
for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, shall be liable for any civil damages for
any act or omission resulting from the rendering of such services unless the act
or omission was the result of his gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Additionally, no person who administers, organizes, arranges, or promotes such
services shall be liable to patients of clinics described in this section for
any civil damages for any act or omission resulting from the rendering of such
services unless the act or omission was the result of his or the clinic&#8217;s
gross negligence or willful misconduct.
			For purposes of this section, any commissioned or contract medical officers
or dentists serving on active duty in the United States armed services and
assigned to duty as practicing commissioned or contract medical officers or
dentists at any military hospital or medical facility owned and operated by the
United States government shall be deemed to be licensed pursuant to this title.

B. For the purposes of Article 5 (&#xA7; 2.2-1832 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of
Title 2.2, any person rendering such health care services who (i) is registered
with the Division of Risk Management and (ii) has no legal or financial interest
in the clinic from which the patient is referred shall be deemed an agent of the
Commonwealth and to be acting in an authorized governmental capacity with
respect to delivery of such health care services. The premium for coverage of
such person under the Risk Management Plan shall be paid by the Department of
Health.

C. For the purposes of this section and Article 5 (&#xA7; 2.2-1832 et seq.) of
Chapter 18 of Title 2.2, &#8220;delivery of health care services without
charge&#8221; shall be deemed to include the delivery of dental, medical or
other health services when a reasonable minimum fee is charged to cover
administrative costs.

HISTORY: 1983, c. 25, § 54-1.2:2; 1988, c. 765; 1989, c. 159; 1992, cc. 414,
706; 1995, cc. 509, 531; 1996, c. 748; 1999, c. 834; 2000, cc. 473, 618, 632;
2004, c. 49; 2010, c. 353; 2017, cc. 57, 415.