HB 1477 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Health Care recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to health care practitioners; amending s.
12	456.076, F.S., relating to treatment programs for impaired
13	practitioners; requiring impaired practitioner consultants
14	to notify practitioners subject to investigations
15	initiated by the department of the investigation process
16	under certain circumstances; providing that failure to
17	comply constitutes harmless error in any subsequent
18	disciplinary action; providing for voluntary examinations;
19	prohibiting an examiner from soliciting a practitioner to
20	enroll in a treatment program from which the examiner
21	receives a financial benefit; providing an effective date.
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23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25	Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 456.076, Florida
26	Statutes, is amended to read:
27	456.076 Treatment programs for impaired practitioners.--
28	(2)(a)The department shall retain one or more impaired
29	practitioner consultants. A consultant shall be a licensee under
30	the jurisdiction of the Division of Medical Quality Assurance
31	within the department, and at least one consultant must be a
32	practitioner or recovered practitioner licensed under chapter
33	458, chapter 459, or part I of chapter 464.
34	(b)The consultant shall assist the probable cause panel
35	and department in carrying out the responsibilities of this
36	section. This shall include working with department
37	investigators to determine whether a practitioner is, in fact,
38	impaired. If a consultant receives information that leads the
39	consultant to believe a practitioner may be impaired and the
40	consultant contacts the practitioner to obtain more information,
41	the consultant or the consultant’s designee shall provide the
42	practitioner, in writing or via electronic mail or facsimile
43	transmission, information regarding the investigation process
44	within 24 hours after the consultant's initial contact with the
45	practitioner. The information that is to be given to the
46	practitioner shall be set forth in a rule developed by the
47	department. The failure of the consultant or the consultant's
48	designee, for disciplinary cases under the jurisdiction of the
49	department, to comply with this requirement constitutes harmless
50	error in any subsequent disciplinary action.
51	(c) If the consultant requests that a practitioner
52	participate in a voluntary examination to help the consultant
53	determine whether the practitioner is, in fact, impaired, the
54	practitioner shall be permitted to locate, within a reasonable
55	timeframe established by the consultant, an examiner who meets
56	the qualifications established by the consultant and who agrees
57	to record the examination. The examiner conducting the voluntary
58	examination shall be precluded from soliciting the practitioner
59	to enroll in a treatment program from which the examiner
60	receives a financial benefit.
61	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.