                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

FURNISHING COPY OF MEDICAL REPORT (§ 65.2-604)

A. Any health care provider attending an injured employee shall, upon request of
the injured employee, employer, insurer, or a certified rehabilitation provider
as provided in Article 2 (&#xA7; 54.1-3510 et seq.) of Chapter 35 of Title 54.1
providing services to the injured employee, or of any representative thereof,
furnish a copy of any medical report to the injured employee, employer, insurer,
or a certified rehabilitation provider as provided in Article 2 (&#xA7;
54.1-3510 et seq.) of Chapter 35 of Title 54.1 providing services to the injured
employee, or to any representative thereof, or to each of them upon request for
such medical report.

B. Whenever any health care provider attending an injured employee refers the
employee or transfers responsibility for his care to another health care
provider, the referring or transferring provider, upon receipt of a request
therefor, shall promptly transfer or cause to be transferred to the new or
succeeding provider, or to the employee or someone acting on behalf of the
employee, copies of all diagnostic test results, x-ray photographs, and other
medical records pertaining to the employee&#8217;s injury for which further
treatment is to be sought from the succeeding provider.
			In the event of such referral or transfer, the succeeding provider, if given
any such diagnostic test results, x-ray photographs and other medical records
pertaining to the employee&#8217;s injury which were performed or recorded
within the preceding 60 days by a referring or transferring provider, shall not
repeat any such diagnostic tests or procedures previously conducted without
making a good faith attempt to use them unless there is a medical necessity to
do so as certified by a qualified physician on behalf of the succeeding
provider. If the succeeding health care provider violates the requirements of
this paragraph, such succeeding provider shall not be entitled to compensation
or reimbursement from the injured employee&#8217;s employer or the
employer&#8217;s insurer for any repeated test or procedure not so certified to
be medically necessary, nor may the succeeding provider require the employee to
bear any cost associated with the repeated test or procedure which would have
been the responsibility of the employer or his insurer but for the provisions of
this subsection.

C. As used in this section, the term &#8220;health care provider&#8221; shall
have the same meaning as set forth in &#xA7; 8.01-581.1, except that
state-operated facilities shall also be considered health care providers for the
purposes of this section.

HISTORY: 1970, c. 470, § 65.1-88.1; 1982, c. 128; 1991, c. 355; 1994, c. 685;
1998, c. 431; 1999, c. 314; 2000, c. 542.