House Bill 1847

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







    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1847

        By the Committee on Health Care Licensing & Regulation and
    Representatives Fasano, Ogles, Heyman, Ritter, Villalobos,
    Minton, Harrington and Healey




  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to regulation of health care

  3         practitioners; creating ss. 458.351 and

  4         459.026, F.S.; requiring reports to the

  5         Department of Health of adverse incidents in

  6         specified settings; providing for review of

  7         such incidents and initiation of disciplinary

  8         proceedings, where appropriate; authorizing

  9         department access to certain records and

10         preserving exemption from public access

11         thereto; providing rulemaking authority;

12         providing an effective date.

13

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

15

16         Section 1.  Section 458.351, Florida Statutes, is

17  created to read:

18         458.351  Reports of adverse incidents in office

19  practice settings.--

20         (1)  Any adverse incident that occurs on or after

21  January 1, 2000, in any office maintained by a physician for

22  the practice of medicine which is not licensed under chapter

23  395 must be reported to the department in accordance with the

24  provisions of this section.

25         (2)  Any physician or other licensee under this chapter

26  practicing in this state must notify the department if the

27  physician or licensee was involved in an adverse incident that

28  occurred on or after January 1, 2000, in any office maintained

29  by a physician for the practice of medicine which is not

30  licensed under chapter 395.

31

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1847

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  1         (3)  The required notification to the department must

  2  be submitted in writing by certified mail and postmarked

  3  within 15 days after the occurrence of the adverse incident.

  4         (4)  For purposes of notification to the department

  5  pursuant to this section, the term "adverse incident" means an

  6  event over which the physician or licensee could exercise

  7  control and which is associated in whole or in part with

  8  medical intervention, rather than the condition for which such

  9  intervention occurred, and which results in any of the

10  following patient injuries:

11         (a)  The death of a patient;

12         (b)  Brain or spinal damage to a patient;

13         (c)  The performance of a surgical procedure on the

14  wrong patient;

15         (d)  The performance of a wrong-site surgical

16  procedure, wrong surgical procedure, or surgical repair of

17  damage to a patient resulting from a planned surgical

18  procedure where the damage is not a recognized specific risk

19  as disclosed to the patient and documented through the

20  informed-consent process, which results in death, brain or

21  spinal damage, permanent disfigurement not to include the

22  incision scar, fracture or dislocation of bones or joints, a

23  limitation of neurological, physical, or sensory function, or

24  any condition which required the transfer of the patient; or

25         (e)  The performance of procedures to remove foreign

26  objects left unintentionally during a previous surgical

27  procedure.

28         (5)  The department shall review each incident and

29  determine whether it potentially involved conduct by a health

30  care professional who is subject to disciplinary action, in

31  which case the provisions of s. 455.621 shall apply; and

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1847

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  1  disciplinary action, if any, shall be taken by the board under

  2  which the health care professional is licensed.

  3         (6)  The department shall have access to all medical

  4  records necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

  5  The records obtained by the department are not available to

  6  the public under s. 119.07(1), as provided in s. 455.621, nor

  7  shall they be discoverable or admissible in any civil or

  8  administrative action, except in disciplinary proceedings by

  9  the board, or the department or other appropriate regulatory

10  board for other licensed practitioners; nor shall records

11  obtained pursuant to s. 455.611 be available to the public as

12  part of the record of investigation for and prosecution in

13  disciplinary proceedings made available to the public by the

14  department or the appropriate regulatory board. However, the

15  department or the appropriate regulatory board shall make

16  available, upon written request by a health care practitioner

17  against whom probable cause has been found, any such records

18  which form the basis of the determination of probable cause,

19  except that, with respect to medical review committee records,

20  s. 766.101 controls.

21         (7)  The board has authority to adopt rules to

22  implement this section.

23         Section 2.  Section 459.026, Florida Statutes, is

24  created to read:

25         459.026  Reports of adverse incidents in office

26  practice settings.--

27         (1)  Any adverse incident that occurs on or after

28  January 1, 2000, in any office maintained by an osteopathic

29  physician for the practice of osteopathic medicine which is

30  not licensed under chapter 395 must be reported to the

31  department in accordance with the provisions of this section.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1847

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  1         (2)  Any osteopathic physician or other licensee under

  2  this chapter practicing in this state must notify the

  3  department if the osteopathic physician or licensee was

  4  involved in an adverse incident that occurred on or after

  5  January 1, 2000, in any office maintained by an osteopathic

  6  physician for the practice of osteopathic medicine which is

  7  not licensed under chapter 395.

  8         (3)  The required notification to the department must

  9  be submitted in writing by certified mail and postmarked

10  within 15 days after the occurrence of the adverse incident.

11         (4)  For purposes of reporting to the department

12  pursuant to this section, the term "adverse incident" means an

13  event over which the osteopathic physician or licensee could

14  exercise control and which is associated in whole or in part

15  with medical intervention, rather than the condition for which

16  such intervention occurred, and which results in the following

17  patient injuries:

18         (a)  The death of a patient;

19         (b)  Brain or spinal damage to a patient;

20         (c)  The performance of a surgical procedure on the

21  wrong patient;

22         (d)  The performance of a wrong-site surgical

23  procedure, wrong surgical procedure, or surgical repair of

24  damage to a patient resulting from a planned surgical

25  procedure where the damage is not a recognized specific risk

26  as disclosed to the patient and documented through the

27  informed-consent process, which results in death, brain or

28  spinal damage, permanent disfigurement not to include the

29  incision scar, fracture or dislocation of bones or joints, a

30  limitation of neurological, physical, or sensory function, or

31  any condition which required the transfer of the patient; or

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1847

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  1         (e)  The performance of procedures to remove foreign

  2  objects left unintentionally during a previous surgical

  3  procedure.

  4         (5)  The department shall review each incident and

  5  determine whether it potentially involved conduct by a health

  6  care professional who is subject to disciplinary action, in

  7  which case the provisions of s. 455.621 shall apply; and

  8  disciplinary action, if any, shall be taken by the board under

  9  which the health care professional is licensed.

10         (6)  The department shall have access to all medical

11  records necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

12  The records obtained by the department are not available to

13  the public under s. 119.07(1), as provided in s. 455.621, nor

14  shall they be discoverable or admissible in any civil or

15  administrative action, except in disciplinary proceedings by

16  the board, or the department or other appropriate regulatory

17  board for other licensed practitioners; nor shall records

18  obtained pursuant to s. 455.611 be available to the public as

19  part of the record of investigation for and prosecution in

20  disciplinary proceedings made available to the public by the

21  department or the appropriate regulatory board. However, the

22  department or the appropriate regulatory board shall make

23  available, upon written request by a health care practitioner

24  against whom probable cause has been found, any such records

25  which form the basis of the determination of probable cause,

26  except that, with respect to medical review committee records,

27  s. 766.101 controls.

28         (7)  The board has authority to adopt rules to

29  implement this section.

30         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

31  law.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1847

    601-148A-99






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  2                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  3
      Requires the reporting of adverse incidents that occur on
  4    or after a specified date in medical office practice
      settings not licensed under ch. 395, F.S. Provides for
  5    review of such incidents by the Department of Health and
      initiation of disciplinary proceedings, where
  6    appropriate. Authorizes department access to medical and
      other records necessary for such review and disciplinary
  7    proceedings, and preserves exemption from public access
      thereto. Provides rulemaking authority to the Board of
  8    Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine to
      implement such reporting procedures.
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