A. The Board shall promulgate regulations establishing requirements for licensure as a physician assistant that shall include the following:

Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2951.1

  • Board: means the Board of Medicine. See Virginia Code 54.1-2900
  • Collaboration: means the communication and decision-making process among health care providers who are members of a patient care team related to the treatment of a patient that includes the degree of cooperation necessary to provide treatment and care of the patient and includes (i) communication of data and information about the treatment and care of a patient, including the exchange of clinical observations and assessments, and (ii) development of an appropriate plan of care, including decisions regarding the health care provided, accessing and assessment of appropriate additional resources or expertise, and arrangement of appropriate referrals, testing, or studies. See Virginia Code 54.1-2900
  • Consultation: means communicating data and information, exchanging clinical observations and assessments, accessing and assessing additional resources and expertise, problem-solving, and arranging for referrals, testing, or studies. See Virginia Code 54.1-2900
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Patient care team: means a multidisciplinary team of health care providers actively functioning as a unit with the management and leadership of one or more patient care team physicians for the purpose of providing and delivering health care to a patient or group of patients. See Virginia Code 54.1-2900
  • Patient care team physician: means a physician who is actively licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth, who regularly practices medicine in the Commonwealth, and who provides management and leadership in the care of patients as part of a patient care team. See Virginia Code 54.1-2900
  • Patient care team podiatrist: means a podiatrist who is actively licensed to practice podiatry in the Commonwealth, who regularly practices podiatry in the Commonwealth, and who provides management and leadership in the care of patients as part of a patient care team. See Virginia Code 54.1-2900
  • Physician assistant: means a health care professional who has met the requirements of the Board for licensure as a physician assistant. See Virginia Code 54.1-2900
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255

1. Successful completion of a physician assistant program or surgical physician assistant program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant;

2. Passage of the certifying examination administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants; and

3. Documentation that the applicant for licensure has not had his license or certification as a physician assistant suspended or revoked and is not the subject of any disciplinary proceedings in another jurisdiction.

B. The Board may issue a license by endorsement to an applicant for licensure as a physician assistant if the applicant (i) is the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth, (ii) holds current certification from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, and (iii) holds a license as a physician assistant that is in good standing, or that is eligible for reinstatement if lapsed, under the laws of another state.

C. Every physician assistant shall practice as part of a patient care team and shall provide care in accordance with a written or electronic practice agreement with one or more patient care team physicians or patient care team podiatrists.

A practice agreement shall include acts pursuant to § 54.1-2952, provisions for the periodic review of patient charts or electronic health records, guidelines for collaboration and consultation among the parties to the agreement and the patient, periodic joint evaluation of the services delivered, and provisions for appropriate physician input in complex clinical cases, in patient emergencies, and for referrals.

A practice agreement may include provisions for periodic site visits by a patient care team physician or patient care team podiatrist who is part of the patient care team at a location other than where the licensee regularly practices. Such visits shall be in the manner and at the frequency as determined by the patient care team physician or patient care team podiatrist who is part of the patient care team.

D. Evidence of a practice agreement shall be maintained by the physician assistant and provided to the Board upon request. The practice agreement may be maintained in writing or electronically and may be a part of credentialing documents, practice protocols, or procedures.

1998, c. 319; 2011, c. 390; 2013, c. 144; 2016, c. 450; 2019, cc. 92, 137, 338; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 210.

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