Florida Senate - 2008 CS for CS for SB 2598
By the Committees on Health and Human Services Appropriations; Health Regulation; and Senator Atwater
603-07691-08 20082598c2
1
A bill to be entitled
2
An act relating to treatment programs for impaired medical
3
practitioners; amending s. 456.076, F.S.; revising
4
requirements for consultants retained by the Department of
5
Health; providing that a consultant may contract for
6
services to be provided to students of allopathic and
7
osteopathic medicine or physician assistants and nursing
8
students who are alleged to be impaired, if requested by
9
the school; exempting the department from paying the costs
10
for services provided by treatment providers or
11
consultants; indemnifying certain schools from liability
12
in civil actions under certain circumstances; providing
13
limited sovereign immunity for certain program consultants
14
under specified contractual conditions; requiring that the
15
Department of Financial Services defend legal actions
16
against program consultants; providing an effective date.
17
18
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20
Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 456.076,
21
Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (7) is added to
22
that section, to read:
23
456.076 Treatment programs for impaired practitioners.--
24
(1) For professions that do not have impaired practitioner
25
programs provided for in their practice acts, the department
26
shall, by rule, designate approved impaired practitioner programs
27
under this section. The department may adopt rules setting forth
28
appropriate criteria for approval of treatment providers. The
29
rules may specify the manner in which the consultant, retained as
30
set forth in subsection (2), works with the department in
31
intervention, requirements for evaluating and treating a
32
professional, requirements for continued care of impaired
33
professionals by approved treatment providers, continued
34
monitoring by the consultant of the care provided by approved
35
treatment providers regarding the professionals under their care,
36
and requirements related to the consultant's expulsion of
37
professionals from the program and requirements for the continued
38
care and monitoring of a professional by the consultant by an
39
approved treatment provider.
40
(2) The department shall retain one or more impaired
41
practitioner consultants. The A consultant shall be a licensee
42
under the jurisdiction of the Division of Medical Quality
43
Assurance within the department who, and at least one consultant
44
must be a practitioner or recovered practitioner licensed under
45
chapter 458, chapter 459, or part I of chapter 464, or an entity
46
employing a medical director who must be a practitioner or
47
recovered practitioner licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459,
48
or part I of chapter 464. The consultant shall assist the
49
probable cause panel and department in carrying out the
50
responsibilities of this section. This shall include working with
51
department investigators to determine whether a practitioner is,
52
in fact, impaired. The consultant may contract for services to be
53
provided, for appropriate compensation, if requested by the
54
school, for students enrolled in schools for licensure as
55
allopathic physicians or physician assistants under chapter 458,
56
osteopathic physicians or physician assistants under chapter 459,
57
or nurses under chapter 464 who are alleged to be impaired as a
58
result of the misuse or abuse of alcohol or drugs, or both, or
59
due to a mental or physical condition. The department is not
60
responsible under any circumstances for paying the costs of care
61
provided by approved treatment providers, and the department is
62
not responsible for paying the costs of consultants' services
63
provided for students. A medical school accredited by the Liaison
64
Committee on Medical Education of the Commission on Osteopathic
65
College Accreditation, or other school providing for the
66
education of students enrolled in preparation for licensure as
67
allopathic physicians or physician assistants under chapter 458,
68
osteopathic physicians or physician assistants under chapter 459,
69
or nurses under chapter 464, which is governed by accreditation
70
standards requiring notice and the provision of due process
71
procedures to students, is not liable in any civil action for
72
referring a student to the consultant retained by the department
73
or for disciplinary actions that adversely affect the status of a
74
student when the disciplinary actions are instituted in
75
reasonable reliance on the recommendations, reports, or
76
conclusions provided by such consultant, if the school, in
77
referring the student or taking disciplinary action, adheres to
78
the due process procedures adopted by the applicable
79
accreditation entities and if the school committed no intentional
80
fraud in carrying out the provisions of this section.
81
(7)(a) A consultant retained pursuant to subsection (2), a
82
consultant's officers and employees, and those acting at the
83
direction of the consultant for the limited purpose of an
84
emergency intervention on behalf of a licensee or student as
85
described in subsection (2) when the consultant is unable to
86
perform such intervention shall be considered agents of the
87
department for purposes of s. 768.28 while acting within the
88
scope of the consultant's duties under the contract with the
89
department if the contract complies with the requirements of this
90
section. The contract must require that:
91
1. The consultant indemnify the state for any liabilities
92
incurred up to the limits set out in chapter 768.
93
2. The consultant establish a quality assurance program to
94
monitor services delivered under the contract.
95
3. The consultant's quality assurance program, treatment,
96
and monitoring records be evaluated quarterly.
97
4. The consultant's quality assurance program be subject to
98
review and approval by the department.
99
5. The consultant operate under policies and procedures
100
approved by the department.
101
6. The consultant provide to the department for approval a
102
policy and procedure manual that comports with all statutes,
103
rules, and contract provisions approved by the department.
104
7. The department be entitled to review the records
105
relating to the consultant's performance under the contract for
106
the purpose of management audits, financial audits, or program
107
evaluation.
108
8. All performance measures and standards be subject to
109
verification and approval by the department.
110
9. The department be entitled to terminate the contract
111
with the consultant for noncompliance with the contract.
112
(b) In accordance with s. 284.385, the Department of
113
Financial Services shall defend any claim, suit, action, or
114
proceeding against the consultant, the consultant's officers or
115
employees, or those acting at the direction of the consultant for
116
the limited purpose of an emergency intervention on behalf of a
117
licensee or student as described in subsection (2) when the
118
consultant is unable to perform such intervention which is
119
brought as a result of any act or omission by any of the
120
consultant's officers and employees and those acting under the
121
direction of the consultant for the limited purpose of an
122
emergency intervention on behalf of a licensee or student as
123
described in subsection (2) when the consultant is unable to
124
perform such intervention when such act or omission arises out of
125
and in the scope of the consultant's duties under its contract
126
with the department.
127
(c) If the consultant retained pursuant to subsection (2)
128
is retained by any other state agency, and if the contract
129
between such state agency and the consultant complies with the
130
requirements of this section, the consultant, the consultant's
131
officers and employees, and those acting under the direction of
132
the consultant for the limited purpose of an emergency
133
intervention on behalf of a licensee or student as described in
134
subsection (2) when the consultant is unable to perform such
135
intervention shall be considered agents of the state for the
136
purposes of this section while acting within the scope of and
137
pursuant to guidelines established in the contract between such
138
state agency and the consultant.
139
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.