Senate Bill sb2226
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2226
By Senator Peaden
1-1152-02
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to medical practice; amending
3 s. 395.0197, F.S.; providing for primary
4 surgeons to select surgical first assistants;
5 creating s. 627.6572, F.S.; requiring insurers
6 to provide coverage for surgical first
7 assistants; amending s. 641.31, requiring
8 health maintenance organizations to provide
9 coverage for surgical first assistants;
10 providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
15 395.0197, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
16 395.0197 Internal risk management program.--
17 (1) Every licensed facility shall, as a part of its
18 administrative functions, establish an internal risk
19 management program that includes all of the following
20 components:
21 (b) The development of appropriate measures to
22 minimize the risk of adverse incidents to patients, including,
23 but not limited to:
24 1. Risk management and risk prevention education and
25 training of all nonphysician personnel as follows:
26 a. Such education and training of all nonphysician
27 personnel as part of their initial orientation; and
28 b. At least 1 hour of such education and training
29 annually for all personnel of the licensed facility working in
30 clinical areas and providing patient care, except those
31 persons licensed as health care practitioners who are required
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2226
1-1152-02
1 to complete continuing education coursework pursuant to
2 chapter 456 or the respective practice act.
3 2. A prohibition, except when emergency circumstances
4 require otherwise, against a staff member of the licensed
5 facility attending a patient in the recovery room, unless the
6 staff member is authorized to attend the patient in the
7 recovery room and is in the company of at least one other
8 person. However, a licensed facility is exempt from the
9 two-person requirement if it has:
10 a. Live visual observation;
11 b. Electronic observation; or
12 c. Any other reasonable measure taken to ensure
13 patient protection and privacy.
14 3. A prohibition against an unlicensed person from
15 assisting or participating in any surgical procedure unless
16 the facility has authorized the person to do so following a
17 competency assessment, and such assistance or participation is
18 done under the direct and immediate supervision of a licensed
19 physician and is not otherwise an activity that may only be
20 performed by a licensed health care practitioner.
21 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subparagraph, the
22 primary operating surgeon may determine the need for and
23 select the surgical first assistant from the facility's
24 medical staff.
25 4. Development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation
26 of procedures, protocols, and systems to accurately identify
27 patients, planned procedures, and the correct site of the
28 planned procedure so as to minimize the performance of a
29 surgical procedure on the wrong patient, a wrong surgical
30 procedure, a wrong-site surgical procedure, or a surgical
31
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2226
1-1152-02
1 procedure otherwise unrelated to the patient's diagnosis or
2 medical condition.
3 Section 2. Section 627.6572, Florida Statutes, is
4 created to read:
5 627.6572 Surgical first assistants.--An insurer must
6 provide coverage for the medically necessary services of a
7 surgical first assistant, as defined by the American College
8 of Surgeons, selected by the primary surgeon to assist in a
9 covered surgical procedure.
10 Section 3. Subsection (40) is added to section 641.31,
11 Florida Statutes, to read:
12 641.31 Health maintenance contracts.--
13 (40) A health maintenance organization must provide
14 coverage for the medically necessary services of a surgical
15 first assistant, as defined by the American College of
16 Surgeons, selected by a primary surgeon contracted with the
17 health maintenance organization to assist in a covered
18 surgical procedure. If the use of contracted surgeons is
19 mandated for a specific procedure, the health maintenance
20 organization may also require that the surgical first
21 assistant be contracted with the health maintenance
22 organization.
23 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
24
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26 SENATE SUMMARY
27 Requires insurers and health maintenance organizations to
provide coverage for surgical first assistants and
28 provides for primary operating surgeons to select them.
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30
31
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.