A. Practitioners shall abide by all federal and state laws and regulations governing the prescribing of buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

B. Physician assistants shall prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder pursuant to a practice agreement with a patient care team doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine.

C. Practitioners engaged in medication-assisted treatment shall either provide offer counseling in their practice or refer the patient to a mental health service provider, as defined in § 54.1-2400.1 of the Code of Virginia, who has the education and experience to provide substance misuse counseling or provide a referral for counseling to each patient as clinically indicated. The practitioner shall document the provision of counseling or a referral for counseling in the medical record. A patient's refusal to receive counseling does not preclude the patient from receiving office-based buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder.