| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to treatment programs for impaired |
| 3 | practitioners; amending s. 456.076, F.S.; revising |
| 4 | requirements for program consultants; authorizing the |
| 5 | Department of Health to contract with consultants to |
| 6 | provide treatment services for allopathic and osteopathic |
| 7 | physician students alleged to be impaired; providing |
| 8 | certain schools with absence of liability in civil actions |
| 9 | when referring students to such consultants or taking |
| 10 | certain actions without intentional fraud; providing |
| 11 | limited sovereign immunity for certain program consultants |
| 12 | under specific contractual conditions; requiring the |
| 13 | Department of Financial Services to defend actions against |
| 14 | program consultants; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 456.076, |
| 19 | Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (7) is added to |
| 20 | that section, to read: |
| 21 | 456.076 Treatment programs for impaired practitioners.-- |
| 22 | (1) For professions that do not have impaired practitioner |
| 23 | programs provided for in their practice acts, the department |
| 24 | shall, by rule, designate approved impaired practitioner |
| 25 | programs under this section. The department may adopt rules |
| 26 | setting forth appropriate criteria for approval of treatment |
| 27 | providers. The rules may specify the manner in which the |
| 28 | consultant, retained as set forth in subsection (2), works with |
| 29 | the department in intervention, requirements for evaluating and |
| 30 | treating a professional, and requirements for the continued care |
| 31 | and monitoring of a professional by the consultant by an |
| 32 | approved treatment provider. |
| 33 | (2) The department shall retain one or more impaired |
| 34 | practitioner consultants. The A consultant shall be a licensee |
| 35 | under the jurisdiction of the Division of Medical Quality |
| 36 | Assurance within the department who, and at least one consultant |
| 37 | must be a practitioner or recovered practitioner licensed under |
| 38 | chapter 458, chapter 459, or part I of chapter 464 or shall be |
| 39 | an entity that employs a medical director who must be a |
| 40 | practitioner or recovered practitioner licensed under chapter |
| 41 | 458, chapter 459, or part I of chapter 464. The consultant shall |
| 42 | assist the probable cause panel and department in carrying out |
| 43 | the responsibilities of this section. This shall include working |
| 44 | with department investigators to determine whether a |
| 45 | practitioner is, in fact, impaired. The department may contract |
| 46 | with the consultant, for appropriate compensation, for services |
| 47 | to be provided, if requested by the school, for students |
| 48 | enrolled in schools for licensure under this chapter who are |
| 49 | alleged to be impaired as a result of the misuse or abuse of |
| 50 | alcohol or drugs, or both, or due to a mental or physical |
| 51 | condition. No school that is governed by accreditation standards |
| 52 | that require notice and the provision of due process procedures |
| 53 | to students shall be held liable in any civil action for |
| 54 | referring a student to the consultant retained by the department |
| 55 | or for disciplinary actions that adversely affect the status of |
| 56 | a student when the disciplinary actions are instituted in |
| 57 | reasonable reliance on the recommendations, reports, or |
| 58 | conclusions provided by such consultant, provided that the |
| 59 | school, in referring the student or taking disciplinary action, |
| 60 | adheres to the due process procedures adopted by the applicable |
| 61 | accreditation entities and provided that the school committed no |
| 62 | intentional fraud in carrying out the provisions of this |
| 63 | section. |
| 64 | (7)(a) A consultant retained pursuant to subsection (2), a |
| 65 | consultant's officers and employees, and those acting at the |
| 66 | direction of the consultant for the limited purpose of an |
| 67 | emergency intervention on behalf of a licensee or student as |
| 68 | described in subsection (2) when the consultant is unable to |
| 69 | perform such intervention shall be considered agents of the |
| 70 | department for purposes of s. 768.28 while acting within the |
| 71 | scope of the consultant's duties under the contract with the |
| 72 | department if the contract complies with the requirements of |
| 73 | this section. The contract must provide that: |
| 74 | 1. The consultant establish a quality assurance program to |
| 75 | monitor services delivered under the contract. |
| 76 | 2. The consultant's quality assurance program, treatment, |
| 77 | and monitoring records be evaluated quarterly. |
| 78 | 3. The consultant's quality assurance program be subject |
| 79 | to review and approval by the department. |
| 80 | 4. The consultant operate under policies and procedures |
| 81 | approved by the department. |
| 82 | 5. The consultant provide to the department for approval a |
| 83 | policy and procedure manual that comports with all statutes, |
| 84 | rules, and contract provisions approved by the department. |
| 85 | 6. The department be entitled to review the records |
| 86 | relating to the consultant's performance under the contract for |
| 87 | the purpose of management audits, financial audits, or program |
| 88 | evaluation. |
| 89 | 7. All performance measures and standards be subject to |
| 90 | verification and approval by the department. |
| 91 | 8. The department be entitled to terminate the contract |
| 92 | with the consultant for noncompliance with the contract. |
| 93 | (b) In accordance with s. 284.385, the Department of |
| 94 | Financial Services shall defend any claim, suit, action, or |
| 95 | proceeding against the consultant, the consultant's officers or |
| 96 | employees, or those acting at the direction of the consultant |
| 97 | for the limited purpose of an emergency intervention on behalf |
| 98 | of a licensee or student as described in subsection (2) when the |
| 99 | consultant is unable to perform such intervention brought as a |
| 100 | result of any act or omission of action of any of the |
| 101 | consultant's officers and employees and those acting at the |
| 102 | direction of the consultant for the limited purpose of an |
| 103 | emergency intervention on behalf of a licensee or student as |
| 104 | described in subsection (2) when the consultant is unable to |
| 105 | perform such intervention when such act or omission arises out |
| 106 | of and in the scope of the consultant's duties under its |
| 107 | contract with the department. |
| 108 | (c) If the consultant retained pursuant to subsection (2) |
| 109 | is retained by any other state agency, and if the contract |
| 110 | between such state agency and the consultant complies with the |
| 111 | requirements of this section, the consultant, the consultant's |
| 112 | officers and employees, and those acting at the direction of the |
| 113 | consultant for the limited purpose of an emergency intervention |
| 114 | on behalf of a licensee or student as described in subsection |
| 115 | (2) when the consultant is unable to perform such intervention |
| 116 | shall be considered agents of the state for the purposes of this |
| 117 | section while acting within the scope of and pursuant to |
| 118 | guidelines established in the contract between such state agency |
| 119 | and the consultant. |
| 120 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |