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Introduced Version Senate Bill 372 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 372

(By Senators Stollings, Jenkins, Unger, Foster and Edgell)

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[Introduced January 28, 2010; referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to repeal §30-3-18 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §30-3-2, §30-3-4, §30-3-5, §30-3-6 and §30-3-8 of said code, all relating to the Board of Medicine; providing definitions and current terminology; and removing outdated language.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-3-18 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; and that §30-3-2, §30-3-4, §30-3-5, §3-3-6 and §30-3-8 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. WEST VIRGINIA MEDICAL PRACTICE ACT.
§30-3-2. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to provide for the licensure and professional discipline of physicians and podiatrists and for the certification licensure and professional discipline of physician assistants and to provide a professional environment that encourages the delivery of quality medical services within this state.
§30-3-4. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(1) "Board" means the West Virginia Board of Medicine established in section five of this article. Whenever any other provision of this code refers to the "medical licensing board of West Virginia", the reference shall be construed to mean and refer to the "West Virginia Board of Medicine" as created and established in this article.
(2) "Medical peer review committee" means a committee of, or appointed by, a state or local professional medical society, or a committee of, or appointed by, a medical staff of a licensed hospital, long-term care facility or other health care facility, or any health care peer review organization as defined in section one, article three-c of this chapter, or any other organization of professionals in this state formed pursuant to state or federal law and authorized to evaluate medical and health care services.
(3) "Practice of medicine and surgery" means the diagnosis or treatment of, or operation or prescription for, any human disease, pain, injury, deformity or other physical or mental condition. "Surgery" includes the use on humans of lasers, ionizing radiation, pulsed light and radiofrequency devices. The provisions of this section do not apply to any person who is a duly licensed health care provider under other pertinent provisions of this code and who is acting within the scope of his or her license.
(4) "Practice of podiatry" means the examination, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and care of conditions and functions of the human foot and ankle by medical, surgical and other scientific knowledge and methods; with surgical treatment of the ankle authorized only when a podiatrist has been granted privileges to perform ankle surgery by a hospital's medical staff credentialing committee based on the training and experience of the podiatrist; and medical and surgical treatment of warts and other dermatological lesions of the hand which similarly occur in the foot. When a podiatrist uses other than local anesthesia, in surgical treatment of the foot, the anesthesia must be administered by, or under the direction of, an anesthesiologist or certified registered nurse anesthetist authorized under the State of West Virginia to administer anesthesia. A medical evaluation shall be made by a physician of every patient prior to the administration of other than local anesthesia.
(5) "State director of health officer" means the state director of health commissioner for the Bureau for Public Health or his or her designee, which officer or designee shall be a physician and shall act as secretary of the board and shall carry out any and all responsibilities assigned in this article to the secretary of the board.
§30-3-5. West Virginia Board of Medicine created; transfer of powers and duties from medical licensing board; powers and duties continued; appointment and terms of members; vacancies; removal.

There is hereby created a medical licensing board to be known as the "West Virginia Board of Medicine." The West Virginia Board of Medicine shall assume, carry has assumed, carried on and succeed succeeded to all the duties, rights, powers, obligations and liabilities heretofore belonging to or exercised by the Medical Licensing Board of West Virginia. All the rules, and regulations, orders, rulings, licenses, certificates, permits and other acts and undertakings of the medical licensing board of West Virginia as heretofore constituted shall continue have continued as those of the West Virginia Board of Medicine until they expire expired or are were amended, altered or revoked. The board shall be remains the sole authority for the issuance of licenses to practice medicine and surgery and to practice podiatry and certificates for to practice as physician assistants in this state under the supervision of physicians licensed under this article. and The board shall continue to be a regulatory and disciplinary body for the practice of medicine and surgery and the practice of podiatry and for physician assistants in this state.
The board shall consist of fifteen members. One member shall be the state director of health officer ex officio, with the right to vote as a member of the board. The other fourteen members shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Eight of the members shall be appointed from among individuals holding the degree of doctor of medicine and two shall hold the degree of doctor of podiatric medicine. One member shall be an individual certified licensed by the board as a Type A physician assistant. Each of these members must be duly licensed or certified to practice his or her profession in this state on the date of appointment and must have been licensed or certified and actively practicing that profession for at least five years immediately preceding the date of appointment. Three lay members shall be appointed to represent health care consumers. Neither the lay members nor any person of the lay members' immediate families shall be a provider of or be employed by a provider of health care services. The state director of health's health officer's term shall continue for the period that he or she holds office as state director of health officer. Each other member of the board shall be appointed to serve a term of five years: Provided, That the members of the medical licensing board or Board of Medicine holding appointments on the effective date of this section shall continue to serve as members of the Board of Medicine until the expiration of their term unless sooner removed. Each term shall begin on October 1 of the applicable year, and a member may not be appointed to more than two consecutive full terms on the board.
Not more than four physicians, one podiatrist and two lay members appointed by the Governor as members of the board shall belong to the same political party. The Type A physician assistant member may not belong to the same political party to which a majority of the lay members belong. A person is not eligible for membership on the board who is a member of any political party executive committee or, with the exception of the state director of health officer, who holds any public office or public employment under the federal government or under the government of this state or any political subdivision thereof. or who is an appointee or employee of the state board of health Should this be Secretary of the Department of Health and
In making appointments to the board, the Governor shall, so far as practicable, select the members from different geographical sections of the state. When a vacancy on the board occurs and less than one year remains in the unexpired term, the appointee shall be eligible to serve the remainder of the unexpired term and two consecutive full terms on the board.
No member may be removed from office by the Governor except for official misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty or gross immorality: Provided, That the expiration, surrender or revocation of the professional license or certification by the board of a member of the board shall be cause for removal the membership to immediately and automatically terminate.
§30-3-6. Conduct of business of West Virginia Board of Medicine; meetings; officers; compensation; expenses; quorum.

Every two years the board shall elect from among its members a president and vice president. Regular meetings shall be held as scheduled by the rules and regulations of the board. Special meetings of the board may be called by the joint action of the president and vice president or by any three members of the board on seven days' prior written notice by mail postage prepaid or electronic means or, in case of emergency, on two days' notice by telephone and electronic means. With the exception of the state director of health officer, members of the board shall receive one hundred dollars for each day actually spent in attending the sessions of the board or its committees. A board member shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred when a meeting is held in a location that is removed from the member's place of residence compensation and expense reimbursement in accordance with section eleven, article one of this chapter.
A majority of the membership of the board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business, and business is transacted by a majority vote of a quorum, except for disciplinary actions which shall require the affirmative vote of not less than five members or a majority vote of those present, whichever is greater.
Meetings of the board shall be held in public session. except that the board may hold closed sessions to prepare, approve, grade or administer examinations Disciplinary proceedings, prior to a finding of probable cause as provided in subsection (o) (p), section fourteen of this article, shall be held in closed sessions, unless the party subject to discipline requests that the hearing proceedings be held in public session.
§30-3-8. State director of health officer to act as secretary of the board.

The state director of health officer, in addition to being a member of the board, shall act as its secretary. and shall be in charge of its offices and responsible to the board for the maintenance of the offices and the preparation of application forms, licenses, reports and all other papers or documents that may be required by the board in the performance of its duties He or she shall, together with the president of the board, sign all licenses, reports, orders and other documents that may be required by the board in the performance of its duties.


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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to update language in the West Virginia Medical Practice Act and provide current terminology.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)
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