                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PROGRAM ESTABLISHED; PRACTITIONER PARTICIPATION; DISCIPLINARY ACTION STAYED
UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS (§ 54.1-2516)

A. The Director of the Department of Health Professions shall maintain a health
practitioners&#8217; monitoring program that provides an alternative to
disciplinary action for impaired health practitioners. The Director shall
promulgate such regulations as are necessary for the implementation of this
program after consulting with the various health regulatory boards.
			The Director may, in consultation and coordination with the Health
Practitioners&#8217; Monitoring Program Committee, enter into contracts as may
be necessary for the implementation of monitoring services. Such services may
include education, assessment, referral for intervention and treatment, and
monitoring of impaired practitioners. If the Director enters into an agreement
with another agency of the Commonwealth pursuant to this section, that agency
shall be immune from liability resulting from the good faith exercise of its
obligations under the agreement.
			When evaluating such contracts, the Director shall consider the utilization
of programs, as appropriate, that have been established by professional
organizations for peer assistance of impaired practitioners.
			The Program&#8217;s operating costs, including any contractual obligations
for services, shall be funded by special dedicated revenues consistent with the
provisions of &#xA7;&#xA7; 54.1-113, 54.1-2400, and 54.1-2505. However, this
section shall not prohibit the Committee from charging participants a reasonable
portion of a fee related to the costs of participation in the Program. No
participant shall be denied entry into the Program due to the inability to pay a
portion of the costs related to participation.
			Any monitoring program for individuals licensed or certified by the Board of
Medicine, and any contract for the implementation of monitoring services with
respect to any such individuals, shall be subject to the prior approval of that
Board.

B. Any health practitioner who has an impairment as defined in this chapter,
may, on a voluntary basis, participate in the Program regardless of whether the
impairment constitutes grounds for disciplinary action.

C. Disciplinary action shall be stayed upon entry of the practitioner in the
Program under the following conditions:

   1. No report of a possible violation of law or regulation has been made
   against the practitioner other than impairment or the diversion of controlled
   substances for personal use and such use does not constitute a danger to
   patients or clients.

   2. The practitioner has entered the Program by written contract with the
   Committee.

   3. Disciplinary action against the practitioner has not previously been stayed
   in accordance with this section.

   4. The practitioner remains in compliance with the terms of his contract with
   the Committee.

   5. The Committee has consulted with the designated representative of the
   relevant health regulatory board.

HISTORY: 1997, c. 439; 2009, c. 472.