RD358 - Biennial Report Department of Health Professions for the Fiscal Years July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 and July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014


Executive Summary:
*This report was replaced in its entirety by the Department of Health Professions on February 2, 2015.

The core mission of the Department of Health Professions is simple – to ensure safe and competent patient care by licensing health professionals, enforcing standards of practice, and providing information to healthcare practitioners and the public. However, the actual work of the Department is far from simple.

The Department of Health Professions consists of 13 licensing boards that regulate 82 separate professions, 585 educational programs, and issue over 370,000 licenses. We issue and renew licenses, investigate complaints against licensees, and inspect pharmacies, funeral homes, and veterinary establishments. Our Boards and Advisory Boards rely on 188 gubernatorial appointees to adjudicate disciplinary and licensure hearings, set policy, recommend law, and make regulations. In 2013-14 we received over 9,900 complaints against licensees resulting in 10,600 investigations, disciplinary action against more than 5,900 health professionals, and suspension or revocation of 919 licensees.

During this biennium the Virginia legislature asked the Department to initiate the regulation of behavior analysts, genetic counselors, surgical assistants, and surgical technologists. The Department led Virginia’s participation in the National Governor’s Association Veteran’s Licensure and Certification Policy Academy to find ways to streamline the healthcare licensure of veterans, by taking into account military training and experience.

In addition to our licensing boards the Department is home to the Board of Health Professions, the Healthcare Workforce Data Center, the Prescription Monitoring Program, and the Health Practitioners’ Monitoring Program. The Board of Health Professions advises the Agency Director, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Governor, and the General Assembly on matters relating to the regulation of healthcare providers. The Healthcare Workforce Data Center conducts surveys of selected professions providing the Commonwealth with valuable supply-side data to help meet the growing healthcare needs of Virginians. The Prescription Monitoring Program operates a 24/7 database of prescriptions, a resource for physicians and other prescribers to safely care for patients and a key tool to prevent misuse or diversion of prescription medications. The Health Practitioners’ Monitoring Program monitors practitioners in recovery to ensure a safe return to practice as an alternative to disciplinary action.

All board functions are funded through licensing fees, which are among the lowest in the nation. No general fund revenue is used to support the Department. I assumed the reins of the Department in March of 2014, and I would like to thank former Director Dianne Reynolds-Cane, M.D., and Chief Deputy Director Arne Owens for their leadership during most of this biennium. The next two years promise to be busy and exciting for the Department of Health Professions. Healthcare is changing – telemedicine, electronic medical records, and interstate licensing compacts, for example – and we need to ensure that regulation keeps up with the evolving healthcare landscape.

David E. Brown, D.C.
Director