| 1 | The Committee on Health Care recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to continuing education for health care |
| 7 | practitioners; amending s. 456.025, F.S.; deleting |
| 8 | requirements for the Department of Health to administer an |
| 9 | electronic continuing education tracking system for health |
| 10 | care practitioners; creating s. 456.0251, F.S.; providing |
| 11 | for enforcement of continuing education requirements |
| 12 | required for license renewal; authorizing citations and |
| 13 | fines to be imposed for failure to comply with required |
| 14 | continuing education requirements; amending s. 456.072, |
| 15 | F.S.; providing for discipline of licensees who fail to |
| 16 | meet continuing education requirements as a prerequisite |
| 17 | for license renewal three or more times; providing |
| 18 | penalties; providing an effective date. |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 456.025, Florida |
| 23 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 24 | 456.025 Fees; receipts; disposition.-- |
| 25 | (7) Each board, or the department if there is no board, |
| 26 | shall establish, by rule, a fee not to exceed $250 for anyone |
| 27 | seeking approval to provide continuing education courses or |
| 28 | programs and shall establish by rule a biennial renewal fee not |
| 29 | to exceed $250 for the renewal of providership of such courses. |
| 30 | The fees collected from continuing education providers shall be |
| 31 | used for the purposes of reviewing course provider applications, |
| 32 | monitoring the integrity of the courses provided, and covering |
| 33 | legal expenses incurred as a result of not granting or renewing |
| 34 | a providership, and developing and maintaining an electronic |
| 35 | continuing education tracking system. The department shall |
| 36 | implement an electronic continuing education tracking system for |
| 37 | each new biennial renewal cycle for which electronic renewals |
| 38 | are implemented after the effective date of this act and shall |
| 39 | integrate such system into the licensure and renewal system. All |
| 40 | approved continuing education providers shall provide |
| 41 | information on course attendance to the department necessary to |
| 42 | implement the electronic tracking system. The department shall, |
| 43 | by rule, specify the form and procedures by which the |
| 44 | information is to be submitted. |
| 45 | Section 2. Section 456.0251, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 46 | to read: |
| 47 | 456.0251 Continuing education.-- |
| 48 | (1) Unless otherwise provided in a profession's practice |
| 49 | act, each board, or the department if there is no board, shall |
| 50 | establish by rule procedures for approval of continuing |
| 51 | education providers and continuing education courses for renewal |
| 52 | of licenses. Except for those continuing education courses whose |
| 53 | subjects are prescribed by law, each board, or the department if |
| 54 | there is no board, may limit by rule the subject matter for |
| 55 | approved continuing education courses to courses addressing the |
| 56 | scope of practice of each respective health care profession. |
| 57 | (2) Licensees who have not completed all of the number of |
| 58 | continuing education credits required for licensure during a |
| 59 | biennium may request an extension of 3 months after the date of |
| 60 | the end of the license renewal biennium within which to complete |
| 61 | the requisite hours for license renewal. Each board, or the |
| 62 | department if there is no board, shall establish by rule |
| 63 | procedures for requesting a 3-month extension and whether proof |
| 64 | of completion of some approved hours of continuing education are |
| 65 | required to be submitted with the request for extension as a |
| 66 | prerequisite for granting the request. |
| 67 | (3) Failure to complete the requisite number of continuing |
| 68 | education hours within a license renewal biennium or within a 3- |
| 69 | month period after the date of the end of the license renewal |
| 70 | biennium, if such an extension was requested and granted, shall |
| 71 | be grounds for issuance of a citation and a fine, plus a |
| 72 | requirement that at least the deficit hours are completed within |
| 73 | a time established by rule of the applicable board, or the |
| 74 | department if there is no board. Each board, or the department |
| 75 | if there is no board, shall establish by rule a fine for each |
| 76 | continuing education hour which was not completed within the |
| 77 | license renewal biennium or the 3-month extension period |
| 78 | following the last day of the biennium, if the extension was |
| 79 | requested and granted, not to exceed $500 per each hour not |
| 80 | completed. The issuance of the citation and fine shall not be |
| 81 | considered discipline. A citation and a fine issued under this |
| 82 | subsection may only be issued to a licensee a maximum of two |
| 83 | times for two separate failures to complete the requisite number |
| 84 | of hours for license renewal. |
| 85 | (4) The department shall report to each board no later |
| 86 | than 3 months following the last day of the license renewal |
| 87 | biennium the percentage of licensees regulated by that board who |
| 88 | have not timely complied with the continuing education |
| 89 | requirements during the previous license renewal biennium for |
| 90 | which the auditing of licensees regulated by that board is |
| 91 | completed. Each board shall provide the department with the |
| 92 | percentage of licensees regulated by that board that are to be |
| 93 | audited during the next license renewal biennium. In addition to |
| 94 | the percentage of licensees audited as directed by the boards, |
| 95 | the department shall audit those licensees found to be deficient |
| 96 | during any of the two license renewal bienniums. |
| 97 | Section 3. Paragraph (ff) is added to subsection (1) of |
| 98 | section 456.072, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 99 | 456.072 Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement.-- |
| 100 | (1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which |
| 101 | the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be |
| 102 | taken: |
| 103 | (ff) Failure for three or more times to complete the |
| 104 | requisite number of continuing education hours within a license |
| 105 | renewal biennium period or within the 3-month period after the |
| 106 | date of the end of the license renewal biennium, if such an |
| 107 | extension was requested and granted. |
| 108 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |