Florida Senate - 2014 SB 1330
By Senator Hays
11-01058-14 20141330__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the continuing education
3 requirements of health care practitioners; amending s.
4 456.025, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
5 by the act relating to the establishment of an
6 electronic continuing education tracking system;
7 creating s. 456.0361, F.S.; establishing an electronic
8 continuing education tracking system in the Department
9 of Health; prohibiting the department from renewing a
10 license unless the licensee demonstrates compliance
11 with continuing education requirements; authorizing
12 the department to adopt rules; amending ss. 457.107,
13 458.347, 463.007, 466.0135, 466.014, 466.032, 484.047,
14 and 486.109, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes
15 made by the act; providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 456.025, Florida
20 Statutes, is amended to read:
21 456.025 Fees; receipts; disposition.—
22 (7) Each board, or the department if there is no board,
23 shall establish, by rule, a fee of up to not to exceed $250 for
24 anyone seeking approval to provide continuing education courses
25 or programs and shall establish by rule a biennial renewal fee
26 of up to not to exceed $250 for the renewal of approval to
27 provide providership of such courses. The fees collected from
28 continuing education providers shall be used for the purposes of
29 reviewing course provider applications, monitoring the integrity
30 of the courses provided, covering legal expenses incurred as a
31 result of not granting or renewing an approval a providership,
32 and developing and maintaining an electronic continuing
33 education tracking system pursuant to s. 456.0361. The
34 department shall implement an electronic continuing education
35 tracking system for each new biennial renewal cycle for which
36 electronic renewals are implemented after the effective date of
37 this act and shall integrate such system into the licensure and
38 renewal system. All approved continuing education providers
39 shall provide information on course attendance to the department
40 necessary to implement the electronic tracking system. The
41 department shall, by rule, specify the form and procedures by
42 which the information is to be submitted.
43 Section 2. Section 456.0361, Florida Statutes, is created
44 to read:
45 456.0361 Monitoring compliance with continuing education
46 requirements.—
47 (1) The department shall establish an electronic continuing
48 education tracking system to monitor a licensee’s compliance
49 with continuing education requirements and to determine whether
50 a licensee is in full compliance with all applicable continuing
51 education requirements at the time of license renewal. The
52 electronic continuing education tracking system shall be
53 integrated into the department’s licensure and renewal system.
54 (2) The department may not renew a license until the
55 licensee has demonstrated compliance with all applicable
56 continuing education requirements. This subsection does not
57 prohibit the department or boards from imposing additional
58 penalties under the applicable practice act or department rule
59 for failing to comply with continuing education requirements.
60 (3) The department may adopt rules to administer this
61 section.
62 Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 457.107, Florida
63 Statutes, is amended to read:
64 457.107 Renewal of licenses; continuing education.—
65 (3) The board shall by rule prescribe continuing education
66 requirements of up to, not to exceed 30 hours biennially, as a
67 condition for renewal of a license. All education programs that
68 contribute to the advancement, extension, or enhancement of
69 professional skills and knowledge related to the practice of
70 acupuncture, whether conducted by a nonprofit or profitmaking
71 entity, are eligible for approval. The continuing professional
72 education requirements must be in acupuncture or oriental
73 medicine subjects, including, but not limited to, anatomy,
74 biological sciences, adjunctive therapies, sanitation and
75 sterilization, emergency protocols, and diseases. The board may
76 shall have the authority to set a fee of up to, not to exceed
77 $100, for each continuing education provider. The licensee shall
78 retain in his or her records the certificates of completion of
79 continuing professional education requirements to prove
80 compliance with this subsection. The board may request such
81 documentation without cause from applicants who are selected at
82 random. All national and state acupuncture and oriental medicine
83 organizations and acupuncture and oriental medicine schools are
84 approved to provide continuing professional education in
85 accordance with this subsection.
86 Section 4. Paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section
87 458.347, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
88 458.347 Physician assistants.—
89 (4) PERFORMANCE OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.—
90 (e) A supervisory physician may delegate to a fully
91 licensed physician assistant the authority to prescribe or
92 dispense any medication used in the supervisory physician’s
93 practice unless such medication is listed on the formulary
94 created pursuant to paragraph (f). A fully licensed physician
95 assistant may only prescribe or dispense such medication under
96 the following circumstances:
97 1. A physician assistant must clearly identify to the
98 patient that he or she is a physician assistant. Furthermore,
99 The physician assistant must also inform the patient that the
100 patient has the right to see the physician before prior to any
101 prescription is being prescribed or dispensed by the physician
102 assistant.
103 2. The supervisory physician must notify the department of
104 his or her intent to delegate, on a department-approved form,
105 before delegating such authority and notify the department of
106 any change in prescriptive privileges of the physician
107 assistant. Authority to dispense may be delegated only by a
108 supervising physician who is registered as a dispensing
109 practitioner in compliance with s. 465.0276.
110 3. The physician assistant must complete file with the
111 department a signed affidavit that he or she has completed a
112 minimum of 10 continuing medical education hours in the
113 specialty practice in which the physician assistant has
114 prescriptive privileges with each licensure renewal application.
115 4. The department may issue a prescriber number to the
116 physician assistant granting authority for the prescribing of
117 medicinal drugs authorized within this paragraph upon completion
118 of the foregoing requirements. The physician assistant is shall
119 not be required to independently register pursuant to s.
120 465.0276.
121 5. The prescription must be written in a form that complies
122 with chapter 499 and must contain, in addition to the
123 supervisory physician’s name, address, and telephone number, the
124 physician assistant’s prescriber number. Unless it is a drug or
125 drug sample dispensed by the physician assistant, the
126 prescription must be filled in a pharmacy permitted under
127 chapter 465 and must be dispensed in that pharmacy by a
128 pharmacist licensed under chapter 465. The appearance of the
129 prescriber number creates a presumption that the physician
130 assistant is authorized to prescribe the medicinal drug and the
131 prescription is valid.
132 6. The physician assistant must note the prescription or
133 dispensing of medication in the appropriate medical record.
134 Section 5. Subsection (3) of section 463.007, Florida
135 Statutes, is amended to read:
136 463.007 Renewal of license; continuing education.—
137 (3) Licensees must Unless otherwise provided by law, the
138 board shall require licensees to periodically demonstrate their
139 professional competence, as a condition of renewal of a license,
140 by completing up to 30 hours of continuing education during the
141 2-year period preceding license renewal. For certified
142 optometrists, the 30-hour continuing education requirement
143 includes shall include 6 or more hours of approved transcript
144 quality coursework in ocular and systemic pharmacology and the
145 diagnosis, treatment, and management of ocular and systemic
146 conditions and diseases during the 2-year period preceding
147 application for license renewal.
148 Section 6. Subsection (3) of section 466.0135, Florida
149 Statutes, is amended to read:
150 466.0135 Continuing education; dentists.—
151 (3) Each In applying for license renewal, the dentist shall
152 complete submit a sworn affidavit, on a form acceptable to the
153 department, attesting that she or he has completed the
154 continuing education required in this section in accordance with
155 the guidelines and provisions of this section and listing the
156 date, location, sponsor, subject matter, and hours of completed
157 continuing education courses. An The applicant shall retain in
158 her or his records such receipts, vouchers, or certificates as
159 may be necessary to document completion of the continuing
160 education courses listed in accordance with this subsection.
161 With cause, the board may request such documentation by the
162 applicant, and the board may request such documentation from
163 applicants selected at random without cause.
164 Section 7. Section 466.014, Florida Statutes, is amended to
165 read:
166 466.014 Continuing education; dental hygienists.—In
167 addition to the other requirements for relicensure for dental
168 hygienists set out in this chapter act, the board shall require
169 each licensed dental hygienist to complete at least not less
170 than 24 hours but not or more than 36 hours of continuing
171 professional education in dental subjects, biennially, in
172 programs prescribed or approved by the board or in equivalent
173 programs of continuing education. Programs of continuing
174 education approved by the board are shall be programs of
175 learning which, in the opinion of the board, contribute directly
176 to the dental education of the dental hygienist. The board shall
177 adopt rules and guidelines to administer and enforce the
178 provisions of this section. An In applying for license renewal,
179 the dental hygienist shall submit a sworn affidavit, on a form
180 acceptable to the department, attesting that she or he has
181 completed the continuing education required in this section in
182 accordance with the guidelines and provisions of this section
183 and listing the date, location, sponsor, subject matter, and
184 hours of completed continuing education courses. The applicant
185 shall retain in her or his records such receipts, vouchers, or
186 certificates as may be necessary to document completion of the
187 continuing education courses listed in accordance with this
188 section. With cause, the board may request such documentation by
189 the applicant, and the board may request such documentation from
190 applicants selected at random without cause. Compliance with the
191 continuing education requirements is shall be mandatory for
192 issuance of the renewal certificate. The board may shall have
193 the authority to excuse licensees, as a group or as individuals,
194 from the continuing educational requirements, or any part
195 thereof, if in the event an unusual circumstance, emergency, or
196 hardship has prevented compliance with this section.
197 Section 8. Paragraph (d) of subsection (5) of section
198 466.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
199 466.032 Registration.—
200 (5) A The dental laboratory owner or at least one employee
201 of any dental laboratory renewing registration on or after July
202 1, 2010, shall complete 18 hours of continuing education
203 biennially. Programs of continuing education shall be programs
204 of learning that contribute directly to the education of the
205 dental technician and may include, but are not limited to,
206 attendance at lectures, study clubs, college courses, or
207 scientific sessions of conventions and research.
208 (d) Any dental laboratory renewing a registration on or
209 after July 1, 2010, shall submit a sworn affidavit, on a form
210 approved by the department, attesting that either the dental
211 laboratory owner or one dental technician employed by the
212 registered dental laboratory has completed the continuing
213 education required in this subsection in accordance with the
214 guidelines and provisions of this subsection and listing the
215 date, location, sponsor, subject matter, and hours of completed
216 continuing education courses. The dental laboratory shall retain
217 in its records such receipts, vouchers, or certificates as may
218 be necessary to document completion of the continuing education
219 courses listed in accordance with this subsection. With cause,
220 the department may request that the documentation be provided by
221 the applicant. The department may also request the documentation
222 from applicants selected at random without cause.
223 Section 9. Subsection (2) of section 484.047, Florida
224 Statutes, is amended to read:
225 484.047 Renewal of license.—
226 (2) In addition to other requirements for license renewal
227 provided in this section and by the board, the department shall
228 renew a license upon receipt of the renewal application and, the
229 renewal fee, and a written statement affirming compliance with
230 all other requirements set forth in this section and by the
231 board. A licensee must maintain, if applicable, a certificate
232 from a manufacturer or independent testing agent certifying that
233 the testing room meets the requirements of s. 484.0501(6) and,
234 if applicable, a certificate from a manufacturer or independent
235 testing agent stating that all audiometric testing equipment
236 used by the licensee has been calibrated on an annual basis
237 acoustically to American National Standards Institute standard
238 specifications. Possession of the certificates is shall be a
239 prerequisite to renewal.
240 Section 10. Subsection (4) of section 486.109, Florida
241 Statutes, is amended to read:
242 486.109 Continuing education.—
243 (4) Each licensee shall maintain be responsible for
244 maintaining sufficient records in a format as determined by rule
245 which shall be subject to a random audit by the department to
246 demonstrate assure compliance with this section.
247 Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.