Florida Senate - 2019                                     SB 666
       
       
        
       By Senator Hooper
       
       
       
       
       
       16-00950-19                                            2019666__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to veterinary medicine; amending s.
    3         474.202, F.S.; defining and redefining terms relating
    4         to veterinary medical practice; amending s. 474.2165,
    5         F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
    6         act; reenacting s. 465.0276(5), F.S., relating to
    7         dispensing practitioners to incorporate the amendment
    8         made to s. 474.202, F.S., in a reference thereto;
    9         providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Present subsections (9) through (12) of section
   14  474.202, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (10)
   15  through (13), respectively, subsection (8) and present
   16  subsection (12) are amended, and a new subsection (9) is added
   17  to that section, to read:
   18         474.202 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
   19         (8) “Patient” means any animal, or any herd, collection, or
   20  group of animals, for which the veterinarian practices
   21  veterinary medicine.
   22         (9) “Physical examination” means the evaluation of a
   23  patient by personal inspection, palpation, and auscultation.
   24         (13)(12) “Veterinarian/client/patient relationship” means a
   25  relationship in which where the veterinarian has performed a
   26  physical examination of the patient or made timely and medically
   27  appropriate visits to the premises where the patient is kept and
   28  the veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making
   29  medical judgments regarding the health of the patient animal and
   30  its need for medical treatment or the veterinarian has access to
   31  the patient’s records and has been designated by a veterinarian
   32  with whom the patient had a prior relationship to provide
   33  reasonable and appropriate medical care.
   34         Section 2. Subsections (1) and (3) and paragraph (a) of
   35  subsection (4) of section 474.2165, Florida Statutes, are
   36  amended to read:
   37         474.2165 Ownership and control of veterinary medical
   38  patient records; report or copies of records to be furnished.—
   39         (1) As used in this section, the term “records owner” means
   40  a any veterinarian who generates a medical record after
   41  performing making a physical examination of, or administering
   42  treatment or dispensing legend drugs to, a any patient; a any
   43  veterinarian to whom records are transferred by a previous
   44  records owner; or a any veterinarian’s employer, provided the
   45  employment contract or agreement between the employer and the
   46  veterinarian designates the employer as the records owner.
   47         (3) Any records owner licensed under this chapter who
   48  performs a physical makes an examination of, or administers
   49  treatment or dispenses legend drugs to, a any patient shall,
   50  upon request of the client or the client’s legal representative,
   51  timely furnish, in a timely manner, without delays for legal
   52  review, copies of all reports and records relating to such
   53  physical examination or treatment, including X rays. The
   54  furnishing of such report or copies may shall not be conditioned
   55  upon payment of a fee for services rendered.
   56         (4) Except as otherwise provided in this section, such
   57  records may not be furnished to, and the medical condition of a
   58  patient may not be discussed with, any person other than the
   59  client or the client’s legal representative or other
   60  veterinarians involved in the care or treatment of the patient,
   61  except upon written authorization of the client. However, such
   62  records may be furnished without written authorization under the
   63  following circumstances:
   64         (a) To any person, firm, or corporation that has procured
   65  or furnished such physical examination or treatment with the
   66  client’s consent.
   67         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
   68  made by this act to section 474.202, Florida Statutes, in a
   69  reference thereto, subsection (5) of section 465.0276, Florida
   70  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
   71         465.0276 Dispensing practitioner.—
   72         (5) This chapter and the rules adopted thereunder do not
   73  prohibit a veterinarian licensed under chapter 474 from
   74  administering a compounded drug to a patient, as defined in s.
   75  474.202, or dispensing a compounded drug to the patient’s owner
   76  or caretaker. This subsection does not affect the regulation of
   77  the practice of pharmacy as set forth in this chapter.
   78         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.