VA DHP News

David E. Brown Appointed Director of Virginia Department of Health Professions

Governor Abigail Spanberger appointed David E. Brown, D.C. as Director of the Virginia Department of Health Professions. Dr. Brown returns to DHP after two previous terms as Director, serving under former Governors Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe. He is a Virginia native and former Charlottesville mayor with a healthcare career dating back to 1982, including service on the Virginia Board of Medicine and Virginia Healthcare Workforce Development Authority.

Virginia DHP Unveils Three New Healthcare Dashboards

The Virginia Department of Health Professions (DHP) and its Healthcare Workforce Data Center (HWDC) have unveiled three interactive dashboards providing data on healthcare supply and demand, behavioral health trends, and career pathways for students. These tools are designed to inform and empower healthcare workforce planning across the Commonwealth of Virginia. This announcement does not create any new compliance obligations for healthcare providers or other entities.

Virginia DHP Accelerates Licensing, Expands Behavioral Health Careers

Over three years, DHP has sharply reduced Board of Medicine licensing timelines from 88 to 34 days overall, accelerating workforce entry where it is needed most. Two new behavioral health license types—behavioral health technician and behavioral health technician assistant—are now available, with the psychological practitioner license forthcoming, while Registered Peer Recovery Specialist numbers have more than doubled. Dentistry licenses are now issued in as little as two days compared to 30 days previously, and a new public dashboard provides real-time behavioral health workforce data.