Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 16 > Article 5Y - Medication-Assisted Treatment Program Licensing Act

• Addiction: means a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Alcohol and drug abuse counselor: means a counselor certified by the West Virginia Certification Board for Addiction and Prevention Professionals for specialized work with patients who have substance use problems. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• board: means a board of health serving one or more counties or one or more municipalities or a combination thereof. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the department. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Center for Substance Abuse Treatment: means the center under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that promotes community-based substance abuse treatment and recovery services for individuals and families in the community and provides national leadership to improve access, reduce barriers, and promote high quality, effective treatment and recovery services. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlled Substances Monitoring Program Database: means the database maintained by the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "department" and "Department of Health and Human Resources" means the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Dispense: means the preparation and delivery of a medication-assisted treatment medication in an appropriately labeled and suitable container to a patient by a medication-assisted treatment program or pharmacist. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Governing body: means the person or persons identified as being legally responsible for the operation of the opioid treatment program. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Medical director: means a physician licensed within the State of West Virginia who assumes responsibility for administering all medical services performed by the medication-assisted treatment program, either by performing them directly or by delegating specific responsibility to authorized program physicians and health care professionals functioning under the medical director&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Medication-assisted treatment: means the use of medications and drug screens, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a holistic approach to the treatment of substance use disorders. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Medication-assisted treatment medication: means any medication that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration under Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Medication-assisted treatment program: means all publicly and privately owned opioid treatment programs and office-based, medication-assisted treatment programs, which prescribe medication-assisted treatment medications and treat substance use disorders, as those terms are defined in this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Opioid agonist: means substances that bind to and activate the opiate receptors resulting in analgesia and pain regulation, respiratory depression, and a wide variety of behavioral changes. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Opioid treatment program: means all publicly- or privately-owned medication-assisted treatment programs in clinics, facilities, offices, or programs that provide medication-assisted treatment to individuals with substance use disorders through . See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means any person, partnership, association, or corporation listed as the owner of a medication-assisted treatment program on the licensing or registration forms required by this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Partial opioid agonist: means a Federal Drug Administration approved medication that is used as an alternative to opioid agonists for the treatment of substance use disorders and that binds to and activates opiate receptors, but not to the same degree as full agonists. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Physician: means an individual licensed in this state to practice allopathic medicine or surgery by the West Virginia Board of Medicine or osteopathic medicine or surgery by the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine and that meets the requirements of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Prescriber: means a person authorized in this state, working within their scope of practice, to give direction, either orally or in writing, for the preparation and administration of a remedy to be used in the treatment of substance use disorders. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Program sponsor: means the person named in the application for the certification and licensure of an opioid treatment program who is responsible for the administrative operation of the opioid treatment program and who assumes responsibility for all of its employees, including any practitioners, agents, or other persons providing medical, rehabilitative, or counseling services at the program. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• State opioid treatment authority: means the agency or individual designated by the Governor to exercise the responsibility and authority of the state for governing the treatment of substance use disorders, including, but not limited to, the treatment of opiate addiction with opioid drugs. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• State oversight agency: means the agency or office of state government identified by the secretary to provide regulatory oversight of medication-assisted treatment programs on behalf of the State of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Substance: means the following:

  (1) Alcohol. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: means the agency under the United States Department of Health and Human Services responsible for the accreditation and certification of medication-assisted treatment programs and that provides leadership, resources, programs, policies, information, data, contracts, and grants for the purpose of reducing the impact of substance abuse and mental or behavioral illness. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Substance use disorder: means patterns of symptoms resulting from use of a substance that the individual continues to take, despite experiencing problems as a result. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Telehealth: means the mode of delivering health care services and public health via information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment education, care management, and self-management of a patient&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Variance: means written permission granted by the secretary to a medication-assisted treatment program that a requirement of this article or rules promulgated pursuant to this article may be accomplished in a manner different from the manner set forth in this article or associated rules. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Waiver: means a formal, time-limited agreement between the designated oversight agency and the medication-assisted treatment program that suspends a rule, policy, or standard for a specific situation so long as the health and safety of patients is better served in the situation by suspension of the rule, policy, or standard than by enforcement. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2