Florida Senate - 2018                                    SB 1728
       
       
        
       By Senator Hutson
       
       
       
       
       
       7-00324A-18                                           20181728__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to veterinary medicine; amending s.
    3         474.202, F.S.; providing and revising definitions
    4         relating to veterinary medical practice; amending s.
    5         474.2165, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
    6         by the act; providing an effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Present subsections (5) through (12) of section
   11  474.202, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6)
   12  through (13), respectively, present subsections (8), (12), and
   13  (13) are amended, and new subsection (5) and subsections (14)
   14  and (16) are added to that section, to read:
   15         474.202 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
   16         (5) “Examination” means the evaluation of a patient by
   17  personal inspection, palpation, and auscultation. The term does
   18  not apply to s. 474.2185.
   19         (9)(8) “Patient” means any animal or herd, collection, or
   20  group of animals for which the veterinarian practices veterinary
   21  medicine.
   22         (13)(12) “Veterinarian/client/patient relationship” means a
   23  relationship where the veterinarian has examined the patient or
   24  made medically appropriate visits to the premises where the
   25  patient is kept and assumed the responsibility for making
   26  medical judgments regarding the health of the patient animal and
   27  its need for medical treatment.
   28         (14) “Veterinary dentistry” means, with respect to animals,
   29  a discipline within the scope of veterinary medicine that
   30  involves the professional examination, evaluation, diagnosis,
   31  prevention, and surgical and nonsurgical treatment of
   32  conditions, diseases, and disorders of a patient’s oral cavity
   33  and maxillofacial area and adjacent and associated structures; a
   34  veterinary dental cleaning, which includes scaling of,
   35  supragingival and subgingival plaque and calculus removal from,
   36  and polishing of a patient’s teeth with power or hand
   37  instruments by a veterinarian or a person under the
   38  veterinarian’s immediate supervision; and veterinary periodontal
   39  therapy to treat a patient’s diseased periodontal tissues,
   40  including root planing, gingival curettage, periodontal flap
   41  surgery, extractions, regenerative surgery, gingivectomy and
   42  gingivoplasty, and local administration of antiseptics and
   43  antibiotics. The term does not include nonveterinary polishing
   44  or brushing of an animal’s teeth with animal toothpastes or
   45  whiteners that are readily available to the public.
   46         (15)(13) “Veterinary medicine” includes, with respect to
   47  animals, surgery, acupuncture, obstetrics, veterinary dentistry,
   48  physical therapy, radiology, theriogenology, complementary and
   49  alternative and integrative therapy, veterinary telemedicine,
   50  and other branches or specialties of veterinary medicine.
   51         (16) “Veterinary telemedicine” means the practice of
   52  veterinary medicine by a veterinarian subsequent to the
   53  establishment of a veterinarian/client/patient relationship
   54  where continuing patient care, treatment, or service is provided
   55  through the use of medical information exchanged from one site
   56  to another via electronic communications. The term does not
   57  include emergency teletriage or poison control services.
   58         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 474.2165, Florida
   59  Statutes, is amended to read:
   60         474.2165 Ownership and control of veterinary medical
   61  patient records; report or copies of records to be furnished.—
   62         (1) As used in this section, the term “records owner” means
   63  a any veterinarian who generates a medical record after making
   64  an a physical examination of, or administering treatment or
   65  dispensing legend drugs to, a any patient; a any veterinarian to
   66  whom records are transferred by a previous records owner; or a
   67  any veterinarian’s employer, provided the employment contract or
   68  agreement between the employer and the veterinarian designates
   69  the employer as the records owner.
   70         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.