Del. Patrick Hope

Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, in conjunction with the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Department of Social Services, the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, the Virginia Network of Private Providers, and other relevant provider organizations and stakeholders, to convene a work group in support of the Joint Commission on Health Care's efforts to improve the quality of the Commonwealth's direct support professional workforce and, if necessary, develop recommendations for policy changes to increase the transparency of the employment history of direct support professional job candidates. Recommendations are to be reported to the Joint Commission on Health Care by October 1, 2018.

Eliminates the requirement for a practice agreement with a patient care team physician for a licensed nurse practitioner who has completed the equivalent of at least five years of full-time clinical experience and submitted an attestation from his patient care team physician stating (i) that the patient care team physician has served as a patient care team physician on a patient care team with the nurse practitioner pursuant to a practice agreement; (ii) that while a party to such practice agreement, the patient care team physician routinely practiced with a patient population and in a practice area included within the category for which the nurse practitioner was certified and licensed; and (iii) the period of time for which the patient care team physician practiced with the nurse practitioner under such a practice agreement. The bill requires that a nurse practitioner authorized to practice without a practice agreement (a) only practice within the scope of his clinical and professional training and limits of his knowledge and experience and consistent with the applicable standards of care, (b) consult and collaborate with other health care providers based on the clinical conditions of the patient to whom health care is provided, and (c) establish a plan for referral of complex medical cases and emergencies to physicians or other appropriate health care providers. The bill requires (1) the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to jointly promulgate regulations governing the practice of nurse practitioners without a practice agreement; (2) the Department of Health Professions, by November 1, 2020, to report to the General Assembly a process by which nurse practitioners who practice without a practice agreement may be included in the online Practitioner Profile maintained by the Department of Health Professions; and (3) the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to report information related to the practice of nurse practitioners without a practice agreement that includes certain data, complaints and disciplinary actions, and recommended modifications to the provisions of this bill to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the Chairman of the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1, 2021.

The resolution is the recommendation of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission. The resolution incorporates