Florida Senate - 2017 SB 732
By Senator Steube
23-01487-17 2017732__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to physician assistants; amending s.
3 458.347, F.S.; requiring that a physician assistant
4 license renewal include the submission of a physician
5 assistant survey; requiring the Department of Health
6 to create a physician assistant survey that includes
7 specified information; revising requirements of
8 appointees to the Council on Physician Assistants;
9 providing an effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (d) of subsection (7) and
14 paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (9) of section 458.347,
15 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
16 458.347 Physician assistants.—
17 (7) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT LICENSURE.—
18 (b)1. The license must be renewed biennially. Each renewal
19 must include:
20 a.1. A renewal fee not to exceed $500 as set by the boards.
21 b.2. Acknowledgment of no felony convictions in the
22 previous 2 years.
23 c. A completed physician assistant survey as provided in
24 subparagraph 2.
25 2. The department shall create a standardized physician
26 assistant survey, which must include, but is not limited to, the
27 following:
28 a. Licensee information, including:
29 (I) Frequency and geographic location of practice within
30 the state;
31 (II) Name of accredited physician assistant training
32 program where the physician assistant received his or her
33 education and training, year of his or her graduation, and
34 number of years of practice in this state;
35 (III) Practice setting;
36 (IV) Percentage of time spent in direct patient care;
37 (V) Areas of specialty;
38 (VI) Current salary; and
39 (VII) Ownership of practice, in part or in full.
40 b. Questions regarding availability and trends relating to
41 critically needed services, as determined by the department.
42 c. A statement submitted by the physician assistant that
43 the information provided is true and accurate to the best of his
44 or her knowledge and the submission does not contain any
45 knowingly false information.
46 3. The department shall issue a nondisciplinary citation to
47 any physician assistant licensed under this chapter or chapter
48 459 who fails to complete the survey within 90 days after he or
49 she has filed an application for the renewal of his or her
50 license to practice as a physician assistant. The citation must
51 notify the physician assistant that his or her license will not
52 be renewed unless the physician assistant completes the survey.
53 4. In conjunction with issuing the license renewal notice
54 required by s. 456.038, the department shall notify each
55 physician assistant licensed under this chapter or chapter 459
56 who has failed to complete the survey, at the licensee’s last
57 known address of record, that the physician assistant survey
58 must be completed before the department renews his or her
59 license.
60 5. The department shall adopt rules to implement this
61 paragraph.
62 (d)1. Upon employment as a physician assistant, a licensed
63 physician assistant must notify the department in writing within
64 30 days after such employment or after any subsequent changes in
65 the supervising physician. The notification must include the
66 full name, Florida medical license number, specialty, and
67 address of a designated the supervising physician. Any
68 subsequent change in the designated supervising physician shall
69 be reported to the department within 30 days after the change.
70 Assignment of a designated supervising physician does not
71 preclude a physician assistant from practicing under the
72 supervision of physicians other than the designated supervising
73 physician.
74 2. The designated supervising physician must be a physician
75 designated by the facility or the practice to be the primary
76 contact and supervising physician for the physician assistants
77 in a practice in which physician assistants are supervised by
78 multiple supervising physicians. The designated supervising
79 physician shall maintain a list of all approved supervising
80 physicians at the practice or facility, which includes the name
81 of each supervising physician and the physician’s area of
82 practice. The list must be kept up to date with additions and
83 terminations and be provided to the department in a timely
84 manner upon written request.
85 (9) COUNCIL ON PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.—The Council on
86 Physician Assistants is created within the department.
87 (a) The council shall consist of five members appointed as
88 follows:
89 1. The chairperson of the Board of Medicine shall appoint
90 one member three members who is a physician are physicians and a
91 member members of the Board of Medicine. One of The physician
92 physicians must supervise a physician assistant in the
93 physician’s practice.
94 2. The chairperson of the Board of Osteopathic Medicine
95 shall appoint one member who is a physician and a member of the
96 Board of Osteopathic Medicine. The physician must supervise a
97 physician assistant in the physician’s practice.
98 3. The State Surgeon General or his or her designee shall
99 appoint three a fully licensed physician assistants assistant
100 licensed under this chapter or chapter 459.
101 (b) Two of the members appointed to the council must be
102 physicians who supervise physician assistants in their practice.
103 Members shall be appointed to terms of 4 years, except that of
104 the initial appointments, two members shall be appointed to
105 terms of 2 years, two members shall be appointed to terms of 3
106 years, and one member shall be appointed to a term of 4 years,
107 as established by rule of the boards. Council members may not
108 serve more than two consecutive terms. The council shall
109 annually elect a chairperson from among its members.
110 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.