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2012 Legislation

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Summaries of the enrolled bills from the 2012 legislative session that affect Florida's health care professions. Click on hyperlinks to view a brief summary, effective date and a link to the final enrolled text.
  • HB 171 Osteopathic Physicians
HB171Applicants seeking licensure who have not practiced for two years and it has been more than two years since completion of a resident internship, residency, or fellowship will have their application reviewed by the Board prior to licensure.  The Board will have the authority to deny or place conditions on the license.
  • HB 309 Radiological Personnel
HB309This bill adds a new type of radiological personnel certification called a "specialty technologist" and allows the Department of Health (DOH) to certify a radiologic technologist who holds an advanced, post-primary or specialty license from a department-recognized, national, radiologic technology organization. 
  • HB 363 Physician Assistants
HB363This bill removes the requirement that a physician assistant apply for and obtain an additional license authorizing him or her to prescribe medication.  The bill authorizes DOH to issue to a physician assistant a prescriber number at initial licensure if the physician assistant provides course transcript and copy of course description for education in pharmacotherapy.
  • HB 413 Chiropractic Medicine
HB 413Revises requirements for obtaining a chiropractic medicine faculty certificate, adds language regarding the denial of approval for continuing education courses, addresses the retention of patient funds, deletes a requirement for a qualifying chiropractic physician’s assistant course to exceed 24 months, and corrects an oversight to add Part IV and the physiotherapy examination to the educational licensure requirements for a chiropractor. The bill also clarifies the exceptions to proprietorship of a chiropractic practice by persons other than licensed chiropractic physicians.
  • HB 479 Pharmacy/Animal Control
HB 479 : This bill requires the Board of Pharmacy to adopt rules to increase the number of controlled substances and legend drugs available to euthanize injured, sick, or abandoned domestic animals or to chemically immobilize such animals; providing that only certain persons are authorized to possess and use these drugs while acting within the scope of their employment.  This bill also restricts the use on intracardial injection to an unconscious animal and prohibits delivery of a lethal solution or powder by adding it to food. This bill also requires that an animal control officer, a wildlife officer, and an animal disease diagnostic laboratory report knowledge of any animal bite, any diagnosis or suspicion of a clustering of animals having similar disease or any symptoms of syndrome that may indicate the presence of a threat to humans.
  • HB 509 Pharmacy
HB 509Revises types of vaccines that pharmacists may administer; authorizes pharmacists to administer vaccine or epinephrine auto injection within framework of established protocol (s. 465.189, F.S.); revises continuing professional pharmaceutical educational requirements with respect to administering such vaccines or auto injection (s. 465.009, F.S.). 
  • HB 653 Health Care Fraud
HB 653Revises grounds under which DOH or corresponding board is required to refuse to admit candidate to examination & refuse to issue or renew license, certificate, or registration of health care practitioner (s. 456.0635, F.S.); provides exception; provides that all persons who were denied renewal of licensure, certification, or registration under s. 456.0635(3), F.S., may regain licensure, certification, or registration only by completing application process for initial licensure; provides exception (s. 456.036, F.S.). 
  • HB 787 Health Care Facilities
HB 787Adds into chapter 456, F.S., certain exemptions from standards of practice for the prescribing of controlled substances for the treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain. It would also make some technical changes and clarify certain terms through definitions added. The practice acts for medical doctors (ch. 458, F.S.) and osteopaths (ch. 459, F.S.) are amended to clarify certain pain clinic-related definitions and to exempt from registration as a pain clinic certain clinics wholly owned by board-approved specialists or by physicians who have received specified board-approved training. The bill would also expand the educational requirements for nursing home licensure examination from a major in health care administration to include a major in health services administration or some other major which is equivalent to either of those two majors.
  • HB 799 Physical Therapy
HB 799Authorizes issuance of temporary permit to practice as physical therapist or physical therapist assistant; provides requirements for issuing temporary permit; provides for voiding of temporary permit; provides requirements for supervision of temporary permittees. 
  • HB 943 Background Screening
HB 943Revises background screening requirements for persons working with vulnerable populations; creates the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse under AHCA which provides for specified agencies to share results of criminal history checks; creates s. 456.0135, F.S. which allows DOH to retain fingerprints for those professions already required to undergo a criminal history check at initial licensure under chapters 458, 459, 460, 461, 464 and 465.022, F.S., and for applicants to bear those costs; adds DOH to the list of agencies who receive sealed and expunged criminal history information; the Board of Nursing is required to waive additional background screenings requirements for certified nursing assistants who have successfully completed the required screening pursuant to s. 400.215 or s. 408.809, F.S., within 90 days before applying for a certificate.
  • HB 1263 Department of Health
HB 1263Revises the purpose of the department; eliminates the Officer of Women's Health Strategy; revises divisions within the department; amends s. 20.435, F.S.; requiring the Department of Health to be responsible for the state public health system;  revising  duties and powers of the department; revising provisions relating to the department's responsibility for communicable disease prevention and control programs; clarifying the purposes and functions of the Children's Medical Services program; removing authority of the department to operate a licensed hospital to treat tuberculosis patients; requiring the department to develop a transition plan for the closure of A.G. Holley State Hospital; amends ss. 458.309 and 459.005, F.S.; requiring that a physician or osteopathic physician  who performs certain medical procedures in an office  setting register the office with the Department of  Health unless that office is licensed as a facility  under ch. 395, F.S., amends s. 462.19, F.S., relating to the renewal of licenses for  practitioners of naturopathy; requiring the Board of Nursing to deny a program application for new pre-licensure nursing education  program while the existing program is on probationary  status; revising the certification  requirements for certified nursing assistants; amends s. 1009.66, F.S.; reassigning responsibility for the Nursing Student Loan  Forgiveness Program from the Department of Health to the Department of Education; amends s. 1009.67, F.S.; reassigning responsibility for the nursing  scholarship program from the Department of Health to the Department of Education; requires the Division of Medical Quality Assurance to create a plan to improve efficiency of the function of the division.
  • HB 4163 Continuing Education for Athletic Trainers and Massage Therapists
HB 4163Repeals provisions relating to requirement for athletic trainers & massage therapists to complete continuing education on modes of transmission, infection control procedures, clinical management, & prevention of human immunodeficiency virus & acquired immune deficiency syndrome. For more information, please visit the Continuing Education pages for Athletic Trainers and Massage Therapists.
  • HB 7049 Human Trafficking
HB 7049Requires employee of massage establishment & any person performing massage therein to present, upon request of investigator, valid government identification; provides documentation requirements for operator of massage establishment (s. 480.0535, F.S.). 
  • HB 7095 Clerks of Court
HB 7095Requires state agencies that issue business or professional licenses to obtain information relating to criminal convictions of licensees; revises provisions relating to suspension, revocation, & reinstatement of professional licenses due to convictions for certain criminal offenses; requires state agency to initiate immediate emergency suspension upon finding conviction for sale, trafficking in controlled substances.