CODE OF VIRGINIA

FURNISHING COPY OF MEDICAL REPORT (§ 65.2-604)

A. Any health care provider attending an injured employee shall, upon request of
the injured employee, employer, insurer, or a certified rehabilitation provider
as provided in Article 2 (§ 54.1-3510 et seq.) of Chapter 35 of Title 54.1
providing services to the injured employee, or of any representative thereof,
furnish a copy of any medical report to the injured employee, employer, insurer,
or a certified rehabilitation provider as provided in Article 2 (§ 54.1-3510 et
seq.) of Chapter 35 of Title 54.1 providing services to the injured employee, or
to any representative thereof, or to each of them upon request for such medical
report.

B. Whenever any health care provider attending an injured employee refers the
employee or transfers responsibility for his care to another health care
provider, the referring or transferring provider, upon receipt of a request
therefor, shall promptly transfer or cause to be transferred to the new or
succeeding provider, or to the employee or someone acting on behalf of the
employee, copies of all diagnostic test results, x-ray photographs, and other
medical records pertaining to the employee’s injury for which further
treatment is to be sought from the succeeding provider.In the event of such
referral or transfer, the succeeding provider, if given any such diagnostic test
results, x-ray photographs and other medical records pertaining to the
employee’s injury which were performed or recorded within the preceding 60
days by a referring or transferring provider, shall not repeat any such
diagnostic tests or procedures previously conducted without making a good faith
attempt to use them unless there is a medical necessity to do so as certified by
a qualified physician on behalf of the succeeding provider. If the succeeding
health care provider violates the requirements of this paragraph, such
succeeding provider shall not be entitled to compensation or reimbursement from
the injured employee’s employer or the employer’s insurer for any
repeated test or procedure not so certified to be medically necessary, nor may
the succeeding provider require the employee to bear any cost associated with
the repeated test or procedure which would have been the responsibility of the
employer or his insurer but for the provisions of this subsection.

C. As used in this section, the term “health care provider” shall
have the same meaning as set forth in § 8.01-581.1, except that state-operated
facilities shall also be considered health care providers for the purposes of
this section.

HISTORY: 1970, c. 470, § 65.1-88.1; 1982, c. 128; 1991, c. 355; 1994, c. 685;
1998, c. 431; 1999, c. 314; 2000, c. 542.