Florida Senate - 2022 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 448
Ì7760642Î776064
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Regulated Industries (Brodeur) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Providing Equity
6 in Telemedicine Services (PETS) Act.”
7 Section 2. Subsection (14) is added to section 474.202,
8 Florida Statutes, to read:
9 474.202 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
10 (14) “Veterinary telemedicine” means the use of synchronous
11 telecommunications technology by a veterinarian who has an
12 established veterinarian/client/patient relationship or has
13 access to and has reviewed the patient’s relevant medical
14 records from a veterinarian who has an established
15 veterinarian/client/patient relationship, to provide veterinary
16 services, including, but not limited to, consultation,
17 evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of a patient; transfer of
18 medical records; and exchange of information with a client.
19 Section 3. Section 474.2021, Florida Statutes, is created
20 to read:
21 474.2021 Veterinary telemedicine.—
22 (1) A veterinarian may practice telemedicine.
23 (2) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine shall
24 take the appropriate steps, as defined by the Board of
25 Veterinary Medicine, to establish the
26 veterinarian/client/patient relationship and provide quality of
27 care consistent with the prevailing professional standards of
28 care for a veterinarian in this state. The board may not require
29 a veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine to perform an
30 in-person physical examination of a patient in order to
31 establish the veterinarian/client/patient relationship or
32 prescribe medicine or other treatment to the patient.
33 (3) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine may
34 order, prescribe, or make available medicinal drugs or drugs as
35 defined in chapter 465.
36 (4) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine may
37 not use veterinary telemedicine to order, prescribe, or make
38 available controlled substances listed in Schedule II of s.
39 893.03 unless the controlled substance is ordered, prescribed,
40 or made available for the treatment of a terminal patient that
41 is transferred to a consulting veterinarian practicing
42 veterinary telemedicine for hospice care services by a
43 veterinarian who has previously performed an in-person physical
44 examination of the patient and provided or made medically
45 appropriate and timely visits to the premises where the animal
46 is kept, and the veterinarian has reviewed the patient’s medical
47 records with the consulting veterinarian practicing veterinary
48 telemedicine.
49 (5) A veterinarian must hold a current license to practice
50 veterinary medicine in this state in order to practice
51 veterinary telemedicine. The practice of veterinary medicine is
52 deemed to occur at the premises where the patient is located at
53 the time the veterinarian practices veterinary telemedicine.
54 (6) The board has jurisdiction over a veterinarian
55 practicing veterinary telemedicine in this state, regardless of
56 where the veterinarian’s physical office is located. The
57 practice of veterinary telemedicine in accordance with this
58 section is not a standard of care violation, and a veterinarian
59 may not be disciplined solely for practicing veterinary
60 telemedicine.
61 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
62 474.203, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
63 474.203 Exemptions.—This chapter does not apply to:
64 (5)(a) Any person, or the person’s regular employee,
65 administering to the ills or injuries of her or his own animals,
66 including, but not limited to, castration, spaying, and
67 dehorning of herd animals, unless title is transferred or
68 employment provided for the purpose of circumventing this law.
69 This exemption does not apply to any person licensed as a
70 veterinarian in another state or foreign jurisdiction and
71 practicing temporarily in this state. However, except as
72 provided in s. 828.30, only a veterinarian may immunize or treat
73 an animal for diseases that are communicable to humans and that
74 are of public health significance.
75
76 For the purposes of chapters 465 and 893, persons exempt
77 pursuant to subsection (1), subsection (2), or subsection (4)
78 are deemed to be duly licensed practitioners authorized by the
79 laws of this state to prescribe drugs or medicinal supplies.
80 Section 5. Paragraph (y) of subsection (1) of section
81 474.214, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
82 474.214 Disciplinary proceedings.—
83 (1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which
84 the disciplinary actions in subsection (2) may be taken:
85 (y) Using the privilege of ordering, prescribing, or making
86 available medicinal drugs or drugs as defined in chapter 465, or
87 controlled substances as defined in chapter 893, for use other
88 than for the specific treatment of animal patients for which
89 there is a documented veterinarian/client/patient relationship.
90 Pursuant thereto, The veterinarian shall:
91 1. Have sufficient knowledge of the animal or group of
92 animals to initiate at least a general or preliminary diagnosis
93 of the medical condition of the animal or group of animals,
94 which means that the veterinarian is personally acquainted with
95 the keeping and caring of the animal or group of animals and has
96 recently performed an examination of the animal or group of
97 animals either in person or by the use of veterinary
98 telemedicine in compliance with s. 474.2021, seen the animal or
99 has made medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises
100 where the animal or group of animals is kept.
101 2. Be available or provide for follow-up followup care and
102 treatment in case of adverse reactions or failure of the regimen
103 of therapy.
104 3. Maintain records which document patient visits,
105 diagnosis, treatment, and other relevant information required
106 under this chapter.
107 Section 6. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 828.30,
108 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
109 828.30 Rabies vaccination of dogs, cats, and ferrets.—
110 (1)(a) All dogs, cats, and ferrets 4 months of age or older
111 must be vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian or, in the case of
112 impounded animals, a person authorized under paragraph (b),
113 against rabies with a vaccine that is licensed by the United
114 States Department of Agriculture for use in those species.
115 (b) An employee, an agent, or a contractor of an animal
116 control authority acting under the indirect supervision of a
117 veterinarian may vaccinate impounded dogs, cats, and ferrets
118 that will be transferred, rescued, fostered, adopted, or
119 reclaimed by the owner. The supervising veterinarian assumes
120 responsibility for any person vaccinating animals at his or her
121 direction or under his or her supervision. As used in this
122 paragraph, the term “indirect supervision” means that the
123 supervising veterinarian is required to be available for
124 consultation through telecommunications but is not required to
125 be physically present during such consultation.
126 (c) The owner of every dog, cat, and ferret shall have the
127 animal revaccinated 12 months after the initial vaccination.
128 Thereafter, the interval between vaccinations shall conform to
129 the vaccine manufacturer’s directions. The cost of vaccination
130 must be borne by the animal’s owner. Evidence of circulating
131 rabies virus neutralizing antibodies may shall not be used as a
132 substitute for current vaccination in managing rabies exposure
133 or determining the need for booster vaccinations.
134 (3) Upon vaccination against rabies, the licensed
135 veterinarian shall provide the animal’s owner and the animal
136 control authority with a rabies vaccination certificate. Each
137 animal control authority and veterinarian shall use the “Rabies
138 Vaccination Certificate” of the National Association of State
139 Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) or an equivalent form
140 approved by the local government which that contains all the
141 information required by the NASPHV Rabies Vaccination
142 Certificate. The veterinarian who administers the rabies
143 vaccination, or who supervises the administration of the rabies
144 vaccination as provided in paragraph (1)(b), vaccine to an
145 animal as authorized required under this section may affix his
146 or her signature stamp in lieu of an actual signature.
147 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.
148
149 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
150 And the title is amended as follows:
151 Delete everything before the enacting clause
152 and insert:
153 A bill to be entitled
154 An act relating to the medical treatment of animals;
155 providing a short title; amending s. 474.202, F.S.;
156 defining the term “veterinary telemedicine”; creating
157 s. 474.2021, F.S.; authorizing the use of veterinary
158 telemedicine; requiring veterinarians to take certain
159 appropriate steps to establish a
160 veterinarian/client/patient relationship and meet
161 certain professional standards to practice veterinary
162 telemedicine; authorizing a veterinarian practicing
163 veterinary telemedicine to order, prescribe, or make
164 available certain drugs; prohibiting a veterinarian
165 practicing veterinary telemedicine from ordering,
166 prescribing, or making available specified controlled
167 substances; providing an exception; providing
168 licensure requirements to practice veterinary
169 telemedicine; providing jurisdiction of the Florida
170 Board of Veterinary Medicine; providing construction;
171 amending s. 474.203, F.S.; providing an exception to
172 who may immunize or treat an animal for certain
173 diseases; amending s. 474.214, F.S.; revising grounds
174 for disciplinary action against a veterinarian;
175 amending s. 828.30, F.S.; authorizing certain
176 employees, agents, or contractors to administer rabies
177 vaccinations under certain circumstances; providing
178 that a supervising veterinarian assumes responsibility
179 for any person vaccinating animals at the supervising
180 veterinarian’s discretion or under his or her
181 supervision; defining the term “indirect supervision”;
182 authorizing a veterinarian who indirectly supervises
183 the administration of the rabies vaccination to affix
184 his or her signature stamp on a rabies vaccination
185 certificate; providing an effective date.