🧠 Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Clinic · Virginia

Virginia: medical director and delegated services for a psychiatry or behavioral health clinic

Whether Virginia requires a physician medical director for a psychiatry or behavioral health clinic, the qualifications, duties, and what the state says about the staff who deliver protocol-driven services.

Medical directorMedical director required
Title in the rulePsychiatric Care Provider
Research date2026-08-12

Qualifications

One physician board-certified or board-eligible in psychiatry and licensed to practice medicine in Virginia, OR a psychiatric nurse practitioner (18VAC90-30-120 scope) — Virginia does not require this role be a physician specifically.

Duties the rule assigns

  • serve as a fully integrated treatment-team member
  • attend team meetings and actively participate in developing/implementing each individual's services plan
  • maintain at least 16 hours of psychiatric time per 50 individuals served

Notes

Confirmed specifically for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams under DBHDS licensure, not psychiatric or behavioral-health clinics generally; Virginia calls the role 'psychiatric care provider', not 'medical director'. Whether other behavioral-health service lines (for example outpatient psychiatric clinics without an ACT team) carry an equivalent requirement is not spelled out.

Sources (1)

Every clinician in Virginia · Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Clinic in other states