House Bill hb1403c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1403
        By the Council for Healthy Communities and Representatives
    Mealor and Kravitz
  1                      A bill to be entitled
  2         An act relating to health care; amending s.
  3         456.031, F.S.; providing an alternative by
  4         which licensees may comply with a general
  5         requirement that they take domestic violence
  6         education courses; amending s. 456.033, F.S.;
  7         providing an alternative by which licensees may
  8         comply with a general requirement that they
  9         take AIDS/HIV education courses; amending ss.
10         458.319, 459.008, and 765.102, F.S.; conforming
11         terminology relating to palliative care;
12         amending s. 765.101, F.S.; redefining the term
13         "end-stage condition" with respect to health
14         care advance directives; creating s. 765.1025,
15         F.S.; prescribing the content and suitability
16         of palliative care; amending s. 765.1103, F.S.;
17         requiring specified health care providers,
18         health care practitioners, and health care
19         facilities to comply with patient requests for
20         pain management and palliative care; amending
21         s. 765.205, F.S.; prescribing the standards of
22         decisionmaking to be used in certain
23         circumstances by health care surrogates,
24         persons who have durable powers of attorney for
25         health care, and proxy decisionmakers; amending
26         s. 765.401, F.S.; prescribing the standards of
27         decisionmaking to be used in certain
28         circumstances by proxy decisionmakers;
29         providing an effective date.
30
31  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
                                  1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1403
    404-106-01
  1         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 456.031, Florida
  2  Statutes, is amended to read:
  3         456.031  Requirement for instruction on domestic
  4  violence.--
  5         (3)(a)  In lieu of completing a course as required in
  6  subsection (1), a licensee or certificateholder may complete a
  7  course in end-of-life care and palliative health care, if the
  8  licensee or certificateholder has completed an approved
  9  domestic violence course in the immediately preceding
10  biennium.
11         (b)  In lieu of completing a course as required by
12  subsection (1), a person licensed under chapter 466, who has
13  completed an approved domestic violence education course in
14  the immediately preceding 2 years may complete a course
15  approved by the Board of Dentistry.
16         Section 2.  Subsection (9) of section 456.033, Florida
17  Statutes, is amended to read:
18         456.033  Requirement for instruction for certain
19  licensees on human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune
20  deficiency syndrome.--
21         (9)(a)  In lieu of completing a course as required in
22  subsection (1), the licensee may complete a course in
23  end-of-life care and palliative health care, so long as the
24  licensee completed an approved AIDS/HIV course in the
25  immediately preceding biennium.
26         (b)  In lieu of completing a course as required by
27  subsection (1), a person licensed under chapter 466 who has
28  completed an approved AIDS/HIV course in the immediately
29  preceding 2 years may complete a course approved by the Board
30  of Dentistry.
31
                                  2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1403
    404-106-01
  1         Section 3.  Subsection (4) of section 458.319, Florida
  2  Statutes, is amended to read:
  3         458.319  Renewal of license.--
  4         (4)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 456.033, a
  5  physician may complete continuing education on end-of-life
  6  care and palliative health care in lieu of continuing
  7  education in AIDS/HIV, if that physician has completed the
  8  AIDS/HIV continuing education in the immediately preceding
  9  biennium.
10         Section 4.  Subsection (5) of section 459.008, Florida
11  Statutes, is amended to read:
12         459.008  Renewal of licenses and certificates.--
13         (5)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 456.033, an
14  osteopathic physician may complete continuing education on
15  end-of-life and palliative health care in lieu of continuing
16  education in AIDS/HIV, if that physician has completed the
17  AIDS/HIV continuing education in the immediately preceding
18  biennium.
19         Section 5.  Subsection (4) of section 765.101, Florida
20  Statutes, is amended to read:
21         765.101  Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
22         (4)  "End-stage condition" means a condition that is
23  caused by injury, disease, or illness which has resulted in
24  progressively severe and permanent deterioration, indicated by
25  incapacity and complete physical dependency, and for which the
26  patient or resident, or his or her authorized representative,
27  would consider life-prolonging treatment to be more of a
28  burden than a benefit, to a reasonable degree of medical
29  certainty, treatment of the irreversible condition would be
30  medically ineffective.
31
                                  3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1403
    404-106-01
  1         Section 6.  Subsection (4) of section 765.102, Florida
  2  Statutes, is amended to read:
  3         765.102  Legislative findings and intent.--
  4         (4)  The Legislature recognizes the need for all health
  5  care professionals to rapidly increase their understanding of
  6  end-of-life and palliative health care. Therefore, the
  7  Legislature encourages the professional regulatory boards to
  8  adopt appropriate standards and guidelines regarding
  9  end-of-life care and pain management and encourages
10  educational institutions established to train health care
11  professionals and allied health professionals to implement
12  curricula to train such professionals to provide end-of-life
13  care, including pain management and palliative care.
14         Section 7.  Section 765.1025, Florida Statutes, is
15  created to read:
16         765.1025  Palliative care.--For purposes of this
17  chapter:
18         (1)  Palliative care is the comprehensive management of
19  the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and
20  existential needs of patients. Palliative care is especially
21  suited to the care of persons who have incurable, progressive
22  illness.
23         (2)  Palliative care must include:
24         (a)  An opportunity to discuss and plan for end-of-life
25  care.
26         (b)  Assurance that physical and mental suffering will
27  be carefully attended to.
28         (c)  Assurance that preferences for withholding and
29  withdrawing life-sustaining interventions will be honored.
30         (d)  Assurance that the personal goals of the dying
31  person will be addressed.
                                  4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1403
    404-106-01
  1         (e)  Assurance that the dignity of the dying person
  2  will be a priority.
  3         (f)  Assurance that health care providers will not
  4  abandon the dying person.
  5         (g)  Assurance that the burden to family and others
  6  will be addressed.
  7         (h)  Assurance that advance directives for care will be
  8  respected regardless of the location of care.
  9         (i)  Assurance that organizational mechanisms are in
10  place to evaluate the availability and quality of end-of-life
11  and palliative care services, including the removal of
12  administrative and regulatory barriers.
13         (j)  Assurance that necessary health care services will
14  be provided and that relevant reimbursement policies are
15  available.
16         (k)  Assurance that the goals expressed in paragraphs
17  (a)-(j) will be accomplished in a culturally appropriate
18  manner.
19         Section 8.  Subsection (2) of section 765.1103, Florida
20  Statutes, is amended to read:
21         765.1103  Pain management and palliative care.--
22         (2)  Health care providers and practitioners regulated
23  under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 464 must, as
24  appropriate, comply with a request for pain management or
25  palliative care from a patient under their care or, for an
26  incapacitated patient under their care, from a surrogate,
27  proxy, guardian, or other representative permitted to make
28  health care decisions for the incapacitated patient.
29  Facilities regulated under chapter 400 or chapter 395 must
30  comply with the pain management or palliative care measures
31  ordered by the patient's physician. When the patient is
                                  5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1403
    404-106-01
  1  receiving care as an admitted patient of a facility or a
  2  provider or is a subscriber of a health care facility, health
  3  care provider, or health care practitioner regulated under
  4  chapter 395, chapter 400, chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter
  5  464, or chapter 641, such facility, provider, or practitioner
  6  must, when appropriate, comply with a request for pain
  7  management or palliative care from a capacitated patient or an
  8  incapacitated patient's health care surrogate or proxy,
  9  court-appointed guardian as provided in chapter 744, or
10  attorney in fact as provided in chapter 709. The
11  court-appointed guardian or attorney in fact must have been
12  delegated authority to make health care decisions on behalf of
13  the patient.
14         Section 9.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
15  765.205, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
16         765.205  Responsibility of the surrogate.--
17         (1)  The surrogate, in accordance with the principal's
18  instructions, unless such authority has been expressly limited
19  by the principal, shall:
20         (b)  Consult expeditiously with appropriate health care
21  providers to provide informed consent, and make only health
22  care decisions for the principal which he or she believes the
23  principal would have made under the circumstances if the
24  principal were capable of making such decisions. This
25  substituted-judgment standard is the preferred standard of
26  decisionmaking to be used by health care surrogates, persons
27  who have durable powers of attorney for health care, and proxy
28  decisionmakers. However, if there is no indication of what the
29  principal would have chosen, the surrogate, the person who has
30  the durable power of attorney for health care, or the proxy
31  decisionmaker may use a best-interest standard in deciding
                                  6
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1403
    404-106-01
  1  that proposed treatments are to be withheld or that treatments
  2  currently in effect are to be withdrawn.
  3         Section 10.  Subsections (2) and (3) of section
  4  765.401, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  5         765.401  The proxy.--
  6         (2)  Any health care decision made under this part must
  7  be based on the proxy's informed consent and on the decision
  8  the proxy reasonably believes the patient would have made
  9  under the circumstances. This substituted-judgment standard is
10  the preferred standard of decisionmaking to be used by a
11  proxy. However, if there is no indication of what the patient
12  would have chosen, the proxy may use a best-interest standard
13  in deciding that proposed treatments are to be withheld or
14  that treatments currently in effect are to be withdrawn.
15         (3)  Before exercising the incapacitated patient's
16  rights to select or decline health care, the proxy must comply
17  with the provisions of ss. 765.205 and 765.305, except that a
18  proxy's decision to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging
19  procedures must be supported by clear and convincing evidence
20  that the decision would have been the one the patient would
21  have chosen had the patient been competent or, if there is no
22  indication of what the patient would have chosen, that the
23  decision is in the patient's best interest.
24         Section 11.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
                                  7
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.