H. B. 2691
(By Delegates Schadler, Pino and Mahan)
[Introduced January 27, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article five-o, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to authorizing
medication administration by unlicenced personnel of nursing
homes.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article five-o, chapter sixteen of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5O. MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION BY UNLICENSED PERSONNEL.
§16-5O-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless a different meaning appears
from the context, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Administration of medication" means:
(1) Assisting a person in the ingestion, application or inhalation of medications, including prescription drugs, or in the
use of universal precautions or rectal or vaginal insertion of
medication, according to the legibly written or printed directions
of the attending physician or authorized practitioner, or as
written on the prescription label; and
(2) Making a written record of such assistance with regard to
each medication administered, including the time, route and amount
taken: Provided, That for purposes of this article,
"administration" does not include judgment, evaluation,
assessments, injections of medication, monitoring of medication or
self-administration of medications, including prescription drugs
and self-injection of medication by the resident.
(b) "Authorizing agency" means the department's office of
health facility licensure and certification.
(c) "Department" means the department of health and human
resources.
(d) "Facility" means an ICF/MR, a personal care home,
residential board and care home, behavioral health group home,
nursing home or private residence in which health care services
are provided under the supervision of a registered nurse or an
adult family care home that is licensed by or approved by the
department.
(e) "Facility staff member" means an individual employed by a
facility but does not include a health care professional acting within the scope of a professional license or certificate.
(f) "Health care professional" means a medical doctor or
doctor of osteopathy, a podiatrist, registered nurse, practical
nurse, registered nurse practitioner, physician's assistant,
dentist, optometrist or respiratory care professional licensed
under chapter thirty of this code.
(g) "ICF/MR" means an intermediate care facility for the
mentally retarded which is certified by the department.
(h) "Medication" means a drug, as defined in section one
hundred one, article one, chapter sixty-a of this code, which has
been prescribed by a duly authorized health care professional to be
ingested through the mouth, applied to the outer skin, eye or ear,
or applied through nose drops, vaginal or rectal suppositories.
(i) "Registered professional nurse" means a person who holds
a valid license pursuant to article seven, chapter thirty of this
code.
(j) "Resident" means a resident of a facility.
(k) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of
health and human resources or his or her designee.
(l) "Self-administration of medication" means the act of a
resident, who is independently capable of reading and understanding
the labels of drugs ordered by a physician, in opening and
accessing pre-packaged drug containers, accurately identifying and
taking the correct dosage of the drugs as ordered by the physician, at the correct time and under the correct circumstances.
(m) "Supervision of self-administration of medication" means
a personal service which includes reminding residents to take
medications, opening medication containers for residents, reading
the medication label to residents, observing residents while they
take medication, checking the self administered dosage against the
label on the container and reassuring residents that they have
obtained and are taking the dosage as prescribed.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
authorize medication
administration by unlicenced personnel of nursing homes.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.