A. No person licensed, registered, or certified by one of the health regulatory boards under the Department shall transfer records pertaining to a current patient in conjunction with the closure, sale or relocation of a professional practice until such person has first attempted to notify the patient of the pending transfer, by mail, at the patient's last known address, and by publishing prior notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the provider's practice area, as specified in § 8.01-324.

The notice shall specify that, at the written request of the patient or an authorized representative, the records or copies will be sent, within a reasonable time, to any other like-regulated provider of the patient's choice or provided to the patient pursuant to § 32.1-127.1:03. The notice shall also disclose whether any charges will be billed by the provider for supplying the patient or the provider chosen by the patient with the originals or copies of the patient's records. Such charges shall not exceed the actual costs of copying and mailing or delivering the records.

B. For the purposes of this section:

"Current patient" means a patient who has had a patient encounter with the provider or his professional practice during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the record transfer.

"Relocation of a professional practice" means the moving of a practice located in Virginia from the location at which the records are stored at the time of the notice to another practice site that is located more than 30 miles away or to another practice site that is located in another state or the District of Columbia.

1992, c. 759; 2003, cc. 912, 917; 2004, c. 53.