The Florida Senate

456.041  Practitioner profile; creation.--

(1)  Beginning July 1, 1999, the Department of Health shall compile the information submitted pursuant to s. 456.039 into a practitioner profile of the applicant submitting the information, except that the Department of Health may develop a format to compile uniformly any information submitted under s. 456.039(4)(b). Beginning July 1, 2001, the Department of Health may compile the information submitted pursuant to s. 456.0391 into a practitioner profile of the applicant submitting the information.

(2)  On the profile published under subsection (1), the department shall indicate if the information provided under s. 456.039(1)(a)7. or s. 456.0391(1)(a)7. is not corroborated by a criminal history check conducted according to this subsection. If the information provided under s. 456.039(1)(a)7. or s. 456.0391(1)(a)7. is corroborated by the criminal history check, the fact that the criminal history check was performed need not be indicated on the profile. The department, or the board having regulatory authority over the practitioner acting on behalf of the department, shall investigate any information received by the department or the board when it has reasonable grounds to believe that the practitioner has violated any law that relates to the practitioner's practice.

(3)  The Department of Health may include in each practitioner's practitioner profile that criminal information that directly relates to the practitioner's ability to competently practice his or her profession. The department must include in each practitioner's practitioner profile the following statement: "The criminal history information, if any exists, may be incomplete; federal criminal history information is not available to the public."

(4)  The Department of Health shall include, with respect to a practitioner licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a statement of how the practitioner has elected to comply with the financial responsibility requirements of s. 458.320 or s. 459.0085 The department shall include, with respect to practitioners subject to s. 456.048, a statement of how the practitioner has elected to comply with the financial responsibility requirements of that section. The department shall include, with respect to practitioners licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 461, information relating to liability actions which has been reported under s. 456.049 or s. 627.912 within the previous 10 years for any paid claim that exceeds $5,000. Such claims information shall be reported in the context of comparing an individual practitioner's claims to the experience of other practitioners within the same specialty, or profession if the practitioner is not a specialist, to the extent such information is available to the Department of Health. If information relating to a liability action is included in a practitioner's practitioner profile, the profile must also include the following statement: "Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons that do not necessarily reflect negatively on the professional competence or conduct of the practitioner. A payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action or claim should not be construed as creating a presumption that medical malpractice has occurred."

(5)  The Department of Health may not include disciplinary action taken by a licensed hospital or an ambulatory surgical center in the practitioner profile.

(6)  The Department of Health may include in the practitioner's practitioner profile any other information that is a public record of any governmental entity and that relates to a practitioner's ability to competently practice his or her profession. However, the department must consult with the board having regulatory authority over the practitioner before such information is included in his or her profile.

(7)  Upon the completion of a practitioner profile under this section, the Department of Health shall furnish the practitioner who is the subject of the profile a copy of it. The practitioner has a period of 30 days in which to review the profile and to correct any factual inaccuracies in it. The Department of Health shall make the profile available to the public at the end of the 30-day period. The department shall make the profiles available to the public through the World Wide Web and other commonly used means of distribution.

(8)  Making a practitioner profile available to the public under this section does not constitute agency action for which a hearing under s. 120.57 may be sought.

History.--s. 128, ch. 97-237; s. 4, ch. 97-273; s. 35, ch. 98-166; s. 77, ch. 99-397; s. 111, ch. 2000-153; s. 67, ch. 2000-160; ss. 22, 153, ch. 2000-318.

Note.--Former s. 455.5651.