The Board of Health Professions shall have the following powers and duties:

1. To evaluate the need for coordination among the health regulatory boards and their staffs and report its findings and recommendations to the Director and the boards;

2. To evaluate all health care professions and occupations in the Commonwealth, including those regulated and those not regulated by other provisions of this title, to consider whether each such profession or occupation should be regulated and the degree of regulation to be imposed. Whenever the Board determines that the public interest requires that a health care profession or occupation which is not regulated by law should be regulated, the Board shall recommend to the General Assembly a regulatory system to establish the appropriate degree of regulation;

3. To review and comment on the budget for the Department;

4. To provide a means of citizen access to the Department;

5. To provide a means of publicizing the policies and programs of the Department in order to educate the public and elicit public support for Department activities;

6. To monitor the policies and activities of the Department, serve as a forum for resolving conflicts among the health regulatory boards and between the health regulatory boards and the Department and have access to departmental information;

7. To advise the Governor, the General Assembly and the Director on matters relating to the regulation or deregulation of health care professions and occupations;

8. To make bylaws for the government of the Board of Health Professions and the proper fulfillment of its duties under this chapter;

9. To promote the development of standards to evaluate the competency of the professions and occupations represented on the Board;

10. To review and comment, as it deems appropriate, on all regulations promulgated or proposed for issuance by the health regulatory boards under the auspices of the Department. At least one member of the relevant board shall be invited to be present during any comments by the Board on proposed board regulations;

11. To review periodically the investigatory, disciplinary and enforcement processes of the Department and the individual boards to ensure the protection of the public and the fair and equitable treatment of health professionals;

12. To examine scope of practice conflicts involving regulated and unregulated professions and advise the health regulatory boards and the General Assembly of the nature and degree of such conflicts;

13. To receive, review, and forward to the appropriate health regulatory board any departmental investigative reports relating to complaints of violations by practitioners of Chapter 24.1 (§ 54.1-2410 et seq.) of this subtitle;

14. To determine compliance with and violations of and grant exceptions to the prohibitions set forth in Chapter 24.1 of this subtitle; and

15. To take appropriate actions against entities, other than practitioners, for violations of Chapter 24.1 of this subtitle.

1977, c. 579, § 54-955.1; 1980, c. 678; 1984, cc. 447, 720, 734; 1986, c. 564; 1988, c. 765; 1993, c. 869.