H. B. 4613
(By Delegates Staggers, Brown,
Fleischauer, Border and Perdue)
[Introduced
February 22, 2010
; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-50-2, §16-50-3 and §16-50-4 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
permitting unlicensed personnel to administer medications in
certain circumstances; defining terms; and exemptions from
licensure.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-50-2, §16-50-3 and §16-50-4 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all 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 However, 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,
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. Nursing
delegation protocols are not intended to regulate the settings in
which delegation may occur, but are intended to ensure that nursing services have a consistent standard of practice to rely, and to
safeguard the authority of the nurse to make independent
professional decisions regarding the delegation of the task.
(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 prepackaged 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. If the
resident is physically unable to place a dose of medication in
his/her own mouth without spilling or dropping it, an unlicensed
person may place the dose in another container and place that
container to the mouth of the individual.
(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.
§16-5O-3. Administration of medications in facilities.
(a) The secretary is authorized to establish and implement a
program for the administration of medications in facilities or
other setting where services are received. The program shall be developed and conducted in cooperation with the appropriate
agencies, advisory bodies and boards.
(b) Administration of medication pursuant to this article
shall be performed only by:
(1) Registered professional nurses;
(2) Other licensed health care professionals; or
(3) Facility staff members who have been trained and retrained
every two years and who are subject to the supervision of and
approval by a registered professional nurse.
(c) Subsequent to assessing the health status of an individual
resident, a registered professional nurse, in collaboration with
the resident's attending physician and the facility staff member,
may recommend that the facility authorize a facility staff member
to administer medication if the staff member:
(1) Has been trained pursuant to the requirements of this
article;
(2) Is considered by the registered professional nurse to be
competent;
(3) Consults with the registered professional nurse or
attending physician on a regular basis; and
(4) Is monitored or supervised by the registered professional
nurse.
(d) Nothing in this article may be construed to prohibit any
facility staff member from administering medications or providing
any other prudent emergency assistance to aid any person who is in
acute physical distress or requires emergency assistance.
(e) Supervision of self-administration of medication by
facility staff members who are not licensed health care
professionals may be permitted in certain circumstances, when the
substantial purpose of the setting is other than the provision of
health care.
§16-5O-4. Exemption from licensure; statutory construction.
(a) Any individual who is not otherwise authorized by law to
administer medication may administer medication in a facility or
other setting where services are received if he or she meets the
requirements and provisions of this article. Any person who
administers medication pursuant to the provisions of this article
shall be exempt from the licensing requirements of chapter thirty
of this code.
(b) All licensed health care professionals as defined in this
article remain subject to the provisions of their respective
licensing laws.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, the provisions of this article shall not be construed to violate or be in conflict with any of the provisions of articles
seven or seven-a, chapter thirty of this code.
(d) Any individual who is employed to provide community-based
services at the direction of the individual receiving services, or
their legally responsible representative, may administer medication
if he or she meets the requirements and provisions of this article
.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit unlicensed
personnel to administer medications in certain circumstances.
The
bill also defining terms
and provides exemptions from licensure.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.