Virginia § 54.1-2951.1 - Requirements for licensure and practice as a physician assistant; licensure by endorsement

§ 54.1-2951.1. Requirements for licensure and practice as a physician assistant; licensure by endorsement

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

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. Except as provided in subsection E, 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. Except as provided in subsection E, 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.

E. Physician assistants employed by a hospital as defined in § 32.1-123 or employed in (i) a state facility as defined in § 37.2-100 operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or (ii) a federally qualified health center designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may practice without a separate practice agreement if the credentialing and privileging requirements of the applicable facility include a practice arrangement that incorporates the components of a practice agreement set forth in the provisions of subsection C, including requiring and designating a patient care team physician or podiatrist, and the patient care team requirements of § 54.1-2952. Such physician assistants shall continue to practice as part of a patient care team in collaboration and consultation with patient care team physicians or patient care team podiatrists.

1998, c. 319; 2011, c. 390; 2013, c. 144; 2016, c. 450; 2019, cc. 92, 137, 338; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 210; 2024, c. 116.