CS/HB 393

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the regulation of professions; amending
3s. 20.165, F.S.; authorizing the Department of Business
4and Professional Regulation to require certain licensees
5and applicants to be governed by provisions providing for
6programs for impaired practitioners under the jurisdiction
7of the Division of Medical Quality Assurance within the
8Department of Health; authorizing the Department of
9Business and Professional Regulation to exercise any of
10the powers granted to the Department of Health with
11respect to such programs; amending s. 456.001, F.S.;
12redefining the term "health care practitioner" as it
13relates to the regulation of health care professions to
14include those persons certified or licensed to provide
15medical transportation services or radiological services;
16amending s. 456.0635, F.S.; exempting a health care
17practitioner from disqualification for a license,
18certificate, or registration if the practitioner was
19suffering from an addiction or impairment at the time of
20the disqualifying offense and subsequently completes an
21impaired practitioner program; amending s. 456.074, F.S.;
22requiring the State Surgeon General to issue an emergency
23order suspending or restricting a health care
24practitioner's license under certain circumstances;
25amending s. 456.076, F.S.; revising the types of entities
26that may be retained by the Department of Health as an
27impaired practitioner consultant; exempting such an entity
28from certain licensing requirements if the entity employs
29or contracts with licensed professionals; revising the
30schools or programs that may contract for impaired
31practitioner consulting services; limiting the liability
32of certain medical schools and schools that prepare health
33care practitioners and veterinarians for licensure for
34referring a student to an impaired practitioner
35consultant; revising requirements for forwarding
36information about impaired licensees and applicants for
37licensure to impaired practitioner consultants; clarifying
38the types of legal proceedings related to services
39provided by impaired practitioner consultants that are
40defended by the Department of Financial Services;
41clarifying requirements for an impaired practitioner
42consultant to maintain as confidential certain information
43concerning an impaired practitioner; providing an
44effective date.
45
46Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48     Section 1.  Subsection (10) is added to section 20.165,
49Florida Statutes, to read:
50     20.165  Department of Business and Professional
51Regulation.-There is created a Department of Business and
52Professional Regulation.
53     (10)  The Department of Business and Professional
54Regulation may require a person licensed by or applying for a
55license from the department to be governed by s. 456.076 as if
56the person were under the jurisdiction of the Division of
57Medical Quality Assurance. The Department of Business and
58Professional Regulation may exercise any of the powers granted
59to the Department of Health by s. 456.076.
60     Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 456.001, Florida
61Statutes, is amended to read:
62     456.001  Definitions.-As used in this chapter, the term:
63     (4)  "Health care practitioner" means any person licensed
64under part III of chapter 401; chapter 457; chapter 458; chapter
65459; chapter 460; chapter 461; chapter 462; chapter 463; chapter
66464; chapter 465; chapter 466; chapter 467; part I, part II,
67part III, part IV, part V, part X, part XIII, or part XIV of
68chapter 468; chapter 478; chapter 480; part III or part IV of
69chapter 483; chapter 484; chapter 486; chapter 490; or chapter
70491.
71     Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 456.0635, Florida
72Statutes, is amended to read:
73     456.0635  Medicaid fraud; disqualification for license,
74certificate, or registration.-
75     (2)  Each board within the jurisdiction of the department,
76or the department if there is no board, shall refuse to admit a
77candidate to any examination and refuse to issue or renew a
78license, certificate, or registration to any applicant if the
79candidate or applicant or any principal, officer, agent,
80managing employee, or affiliated person of the applicant, has
81been:
82     (a)  Convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo
83contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a felony under
84chapter 409, chapter 817, chapter 893, 21 U.S.C. ss. 801-970, or
8542 U.S.C. ss. 1395-1396, unless the sentence and any subsequent
86period of probation for such conviction or pleas ended more than
8715 years before prior to the date of the application. The
88disqualification set forth in this paragraph does not apply to a
89person who is determined to have been suffering from an
90addiction or impairment at the time of the offense for which the
91person was convicted, or to a person who entered a plea of
92guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a
93felony under chapter 893, and who subsequently enrolled in and
94continues to successfully participate in or has subsequently
95successfully completed an impaired practitioner program as set
96forth in s. 456.076(1) or the equivalent of such program in
97another jurisdiction. This exception from disqualification does
98not prohibit or require action against the license, certificate,
99or registration of such person pursuant to the disciplinary
100provisions of this chapter or the appropriate practice act;
101     (b)  Terminated for cause from the Florida Medicaid program
102pursuant to s. 409.913, unless the applicant has been in good
103standing with the Florida Medicaid program for the most recent 5
104years; or
105     (c)  Terminated for cause, pursuant to the appeals
106procedures established by the state or Federal Government, from
107any other state Medicaid program or the federal Medicare
108program, unless the applicant has been in good standing with a
109state Medicaid program or the federal Medicare program for the
110most recent 5 years and the termination occurred at least 20
111years before prior to the date of the application.
112     Section 4.  Subsection (5) is added to section 456.074,
113Florida Statutes, to read:
114     456.074  Certain health care practitioners; immediate
115suspension of license.-
116     (5)  If an impaired practitioner treatment program
117consultant retained by the department pursuant to s. 456.076
118discloses to the department that a health care practitioner is
119not progressing satisfactorily in that treatment program and the
120health care practitioner's impairment affects his or her
121practice and constitutes an immediate, serious danger to the
122public health, safety, or welfare, the State Surgeon General
123shall review the matter within 10 business days after receiving
124the disclosure and, if warranted, shall issue an emergency order
125suspending or restricting the health care practitioner's
126license.
127     Section 5.  Subsection (2), paragraph (d) of subsection
128(3), and paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 456.076,
129Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (8) is added to
130that section, to read:
131     456.076  Treatment programs for impaired practitioners.-
132     (2)(a)  The department shall retain one or more impaired
133practitioner consultants. Each The consultant must shall be a
134licensee under the jurisdiction of the Division of Medical
135Quality Assurance within the department and who must be:
136     1.  A practitioner or recovered practitioner licensed under
137chapter 458, chapter 459, or part I of chapter 464;, or
138     2.  An entity employing a medical director or employing a
139registered nurse as an executive director, who must be a
140practitioner or recovered practitioner licensed under chapter
141458, chapter 459, or part I of chapter 464.
142     (b)  An entity that is retained as a consultant under this
143section and employs a medical director or registered nurse as an
144executive director is not required to be licensed as a substance
145abuse provider or mental health treatment provider under chapter
146394, chapter 395, or chapter 397 in order to operate as a
147consultant under this section if the entity employs or contracts
148with licensed professionals to perform or appropriately
149supervise any specific treatment or evaluation that requires
150individual licensing or supervision.
151     (c)  The consultant shall assist the probable cause panel
152and department in carrying out the responsibilities of this
153section. This includes shall include working with department
154investigators to determine whether a practitioner is, in fact,
155impaired. The consultant may contract for services to be
156provided, for appropriate compensation, if requested by a the
157school or program, for students enrolled in a school schools for
158licensure as a health care practitioner under chapter 456 or a
159veterinarian under chapter 474 allopathic physicians or
160physician assistants under chapter 458, osteopathic physicians
161or physician assistants under chapter 459, nurses under chapter
162464, or pharmacists under chapter 465 who are alleged to be
163impaired as a result of the misuse or abuse of alcohol or drugs,
164or both, or due to a mental or physical condition.
165     (d)  The department is not responsible under any
166circumstances for paying the costs of care provided by approved
167treatment providers, and the department is not responsible for
168paying the costs of consultants' services provided for such
169students.
170     (e)  A medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee
171on Medical Education of the Commission on Osteopathic College
172Accreditation, or another other school providing for the
173education of students enrolled in preparation for licensure as a
174health care practitioner under chapter 456 or a veterinarian
175under chapter 474 allopathic physicians under chapter 458 or
176osteopathic physicians under chapter 459, which school is
177governed by accreditation standards requiring notice and the
178provision of due process procedures to students, is not liable
179in any civil action for referring a student to the consultant
180retained by the department or for disciplinary actions that
181adversely affect the status of a student when the disciplinary
182actions are instituted in reasonable reliance on the
183recommendations, reports, or conclusions provided by such
184consultant, if the school, in referring the student or taking
185disciplinary action, adheres to the due process procedures
186adopted by the applicable accreditation entities and if the
187school committed no intentional fraud in carrying out the
188provisions of this section.
189     (3)
190     (d)  Whenever the department receives a legally sufficient
191complaint alleging that a licensee or applicant is impaired as
192described in paragraph (a) and no complaint against the licensee
193or applicant other than impairment exists, the board from which
194the license was granted or is sought, the board's designee, or
195the department shall forward all information in its possession
196regarding the impaired licensee or applicant to the consultant.
197For the purposes of this section, a suspension from hospital
198staff privileges due to the impairment does not constitute a
199complaint.
200     (7)
201     (b)  In accordance with s. 284.385, the Department of
202Financial Services shall defend any claim, suit, action, or
203proceeding, including a claim, suit, action, or proceeding for
204injunctive, affirmative, or declaratory relief, against the
205consultant, the consultant's officers or employees, or those
206acting at the direction of the consultant for the limited
207purpose of an emergency intervention on behalf of a licensee or
208student as described in subsection (2) when the consultant is
209unable to perform such intervention which is brought as a result
210of any act or omission by any of the consultant's officers and
211employees and those acting under the direction of the consultant
212for the limited purpose of an emergency intervention on behalf
213of a licensee or student as described in subsection (2) when the
214consultant is unable to perform such intervention when such act
215or omission arises out of and in the scope of the consultant's
216duties under its contract with the department.
217     (8)  An impaired practitioner consultant is the official
218custodian of records concerning any impaired licensee monitored
219by that consultant. The consultant may not, except to the extent
220necessary for carrying out the consultant's duties under this
221section, disclose to the impaired licensee or his or her
222designee any information that is disclosed to or obtained by the
223consultant and is confidential under paragraph (5)(a). If a
224disciplinary proceeding is pending, an impaired licensee may
225obtain such information from the department under s.
226456.073(10).
227     Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.