The petition for rule-making requests an amendment to requirements for standards for professional conduct in the practice of medicine. Specifically, it requests the addition of a requirement for physicians to wear gloves when conducting a genital examination to protect both the patient against the perception of sexual conduct and the physician against the transmission of sexually-transmitted disease.

In accordance with Virginia law, the petition has been filed with the Register of Regulations and will be published on May 2, 2016 and posted on the Virginia Regulatory Townhall at www.townhall.virginia.gov.  Comment on the petition will be requested until June 1, 2016 and may be posted on the Townhall or sent to the Board.

 Following receipt of all comments on the petition to amend regulations, the matter will be considered by the full Board at its meeting on June 16, 2016.

 At its meeting today, the Board of Medicine decided not to initiate rulemaking.  While members agreed that wearing of gloves is the standard of care for most patients, it did not agree that this commonplace practice needed to be singled out for regulatory action.