HB 53

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to clinical laboratories; amending s.
3483.181, F.S.; requiring clinical laboratories to accept
4human specimens submitted by advanced registered nurse
5practitioners; providing an effective date.
6
7Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9     Section 1.  Section 483.181, Florida Statutes, is amended
10to read:
11     483.181  Acceptance, collection, identification, and
12examination of specimens.--
13     (1)  A clinical laboratory may examine human specimens at
14the request only of a licensed practitioner or other person
15authorized by law to use the findings of clinical laboratory
16examinations. An individual forwarding a sample of the
17individual's own blood to a clinical laboratory, when such blood
18sample has been taken pursuant to a home access HIV test kit
19approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration,
20shall be considered a person authorized to request and use a
21clinical laboratory test for human immunodeficiency virus, for
22the purposes of this part.
23     (2)  The results of a test must be reported directly to the
24licensed practitioner or other authorized person who requested
25it. The report must include the name and address of the clinical
26laboratory in which the test was actually performed, unless the
27test was performed in a hospital laboratory and the report
28becomes an integral part of the hospital record.
29     (3)  The results of clinical laboratory tests performed by
30a clinical laboratory complying with this part and performed
31before a patient's admission to a facility licensed under
32chapter 395 must be accepted in lieu of clinical laboratory
33tests required upon a patient's admission to the facility and in
34lieu of tests that may be ordered for patients of the facility,
35except that the facility may not be required to accept
36transfusion compatibility test results. The agency shall
37establish, by rule, standards for accepting laboratory test
38results to specify acceptable timeframes for such laboratory
39tests to assure that the timeframes do not adversely affect the
40accuracy of the test.
41     (4)  All specimens accepted by a clinical laboratory must
42be tested on the premises, except that specimens for
43infrequently performed tests may be forwarded for examination to
44another clinical laboratory approved under this part. This
45subsection does not prohibit referring specimens to a clinical
46laboratory excepted under s. 483.031. However, the clinical
47laboratory director of the referring clinical laboratory must
48assume complete responsibility.
49     (5)  A clinical laboratory licensed under this part must
50accept a human specimen submitted for examination by a
51practitioner licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter
52460, chapter 461, chapter 462, s. 464.012, or chapter 466, if
53the specimen and test are the type performed by the clinical
54laboratory. A clinical laboratory may only refuse a specimen
55based upon a history of nonpayment for services by the
56practitioner. A clinical laboratory shall not charge different
57prices for tests based upon the chapter under which a
58practitioner submitting a specimen for testing is licensed.
59     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.


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