Florida Senate - 2023 SB 230
By Senator Harrell
31-00299B-23 2023230__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to health care practitioner titles and
3 abbreviations; creating s. 456.0393, F.S.; defining
4 the terms “advertisement” and “deceptive or misleading
5 terms or false representation”; specifying which
6 titles and abbreviations health care practitioners may
7 use in their advertisements, communications, and
8 personal identification; requiring health care
9 practitioners to disclose specified information and
10 use only authorized titles and abbreviations in their
11 advertisements; prohibiting health care practitioners
12 from using deceptive or misleading terms or false
13 representations in their advertisements; requiring
14 health care practitioners who treat patients in person
15 to wear a badge or clothing that clearly discloses
16 specified information; requiring certain health care
17 practitioners to prominently display a copy of their
18 license in a conspicuous area of their practices;
19 requiring that the copy of the license be a specified
20 size; providing for denial of licensure and
21 disciplinary action; requiring certain boards, and the
22 Department of Health when there is no board, to adopt
23 rules; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Section 456.0393, Florida Statutes, is created
28 to read:
29 456.0393 Health care practitioner titles and abbreviations;
30 advertisements, communications, and personal identification.—
31 (1) As used in this section, the term:
32 (a) “Advertisement” means any communication, printed,
33 electronic, or oral, that names a health care practitioner and
34 the practice, profession, or institution in which the
35 practitioner is employed, volunteers, or otherwise provides
36 health care services. The term includes business cards,
37 identification badges, letterhead, patient brochures, e-mails,
38 Internet websites or platforms, audio and video communications,
39 text messages, and any other form of communication.
40 (b) “Deceptive or misleading terms or false representation”
41 means the use of titles, terms, or other words that misstate,
42 falsely describe, falsely hold out, or falsely detail the health
43 care practitioner’s professional skills, training, expertise,
44 education, board certification, or licensure, and includes the
45 misappropriation of medical titles and medical specialty titles
46 by nonphysicians.
47 (2) Health care practitioners may use titles and
48 abbreviations in their advertisements, communications, and
49 personal identification, only as follows:
50 (a) Physicians licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459
51 may use any of the following titles and abbreviations only as
52 applicable to their license, specialties, and certifications:
53 “M.D.,” “D.O.,” “doctor,” “doctor of medicine,” “medical
54 doctor,” “doctor of osteopathic medicine,” “physician,”
55 “surgeon,” “general surgeon,” “neurosurgeon,” “orthopedic
56 surgeon,” “medical resident,” “resident physician,” “medical
57 intern,” “anesthesiologist,” “cardiologist,” “dermatologist,”
58 “endocrinologist,” “gastroenterologist,” “general practitioner,”
59 “gynecologist,” “hematologist,” “hospitalist,” “intensivist,”
60 “internist,” “interventional pain medicine physician,”
61 “laryngologist,” “nephrologist,” “neurologist,” “obstetrician,”
62 “oncologist,” “ophthalmologist,” “orthopedic surgeon,”
63 “orthopedist,” “osteopath,” “otologist,” “otolaryngologist,”
64 “otorhinolaryngologist,” “pathologist,” “pediatrician,” “primary
65 care physician,” “proctologist,” “psychiatrist,” “radiologist,”
66 “rheumatologist,” “rhinologist,” and “urologist,” or any other
67 title, word, abbreviation, description of services, or
68 designation, alone or in combination with any other title, to
69 indicate or induce others to believe that he or she is licensed
70 to practice medicine.
71 1. Chiropractic physicians licensed under chapter 460 may
72 use the titles “chiropractic physician” and “doctor of
73 chiropractic medicine” and may use the abbreviation “D.C.” A
74 chiropractic physician who has attained diplomate status in a
75 chiropractic specialty area recognized by the American
76 Chiropractic Association, the International Chiropractic
77 Association, or the International Academy of Clinical Neurology
78 before July 1, 2025, may use the applicable titles in this
79 paragraph in conjunction with his or her name and title to
80 reflect such specialty area.
81 2. Podiatric physicians licensed under chapter 461 may use
82 any of the following titles and abbreviations only as applicable
83 to their license, specialties, and certifications: “podiatric
84 physician,” “doctor of podiatric medicine,” “D.P.M.,”
85 “podiatrist,” “podiatric surgeon,” “Fellow in the American
86 College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons,” and “F.A.C.F.A.S.”
87 3. Dentists licensed under chapter 466 may use any of the
88 following titles and abbreviations only as applicable to their
89 license, specialties, and certifications: “doctor of medicine in
90 dentistry,” “doctor of dental medicine,” “D.M.D.,” “doctor of
91 dental surgery,” “D.D.S.,” “oral and maxillofacial surgeon,”
92 “O.M.S.,” “periodontist,” “prosthodontist,” “endodontist,”
93 “pediatric dentist,” “orthodontist,” “oral pathologist,” and
94 “oral radiologist.” A dentist who has completed a dental
95 anesthesiology residency recognized by the American Dental Board
96 of Anesthesiology before July 1, 2025, may use the applicable
97 titles in this paragraph in conjunction with his or her name and
98 title to reflect such residency training.
99 (b) Registered nurses licensed under part I of chapter 464
100 may use only the title “registered nurse” and the abbreviation
101 “R.N.”
102 (c) Licensed practical nurses licensed under part I of
103 chapter 464 may use only the title “licensed practical nurse”
104 and the abbreviation “L.P.N.”
105 (d) Advanced practice registered nurses licensed under part
106 I of chapter 464 may use only the title “advanced practice
107 registered nurse” or abbreviation “A.P.R.N.” and the following
108 role titles and abbreviations, as applicable:
109 1. “Certified registered nurse anesthetist,” “nurse
110 anesthetist,” and “C.R.N.A.”
111 2. “Clinical nurse specialist” and “C.N.S.”
112 3. “Certified nurse practitioner” and “C.N.P.”
113 4. “Certified nurse midwife” and “C.N.M.”
114 5. “Certified psychiatric nurse,” “psychiatric mental
115 health advanced practice nurse,” and “C.P.N.”
116 6. “Autonomous advanced practice registered nurse” and “A.
117 A.P.R.N.”
118 (e) Physician assistants licensed under chapter 458 or
119 chapter 459 may use only the title “physician assistant” and the
120 abbreviations “P.A.” or “P.A.-C.”
121 (f) Anesthesiologist assistants licensed under chapter 458
122 or chapter 459 may use only the titles “anesthesiologist
123 assistant” or “certified anesthesiologist assistant” and the
124 abbreviation “C.A.A.”
125 (g) All other health care practitioners may use only the
126 titles and abbreviations authorized by their respective practice
127 acts and this paragraph. Any nonphysician health care
128 practitioner who has obtained a doctoral degree under the
129 profession governed by the applicable practice act may use the
130 letter “D.” in front of the abbreviations authorized by the
131 health care practitioner’s respective practice act. However, a
132 nonphysician health care practitioner may not use the title
133 “doctor” in any form of advertisement, telehealth interaction,
134 text message, or verbal communication without clearly
135 identifying himself or herself as a “doctor” of a specific
136 profession, citing the applicable chapter under which the health
137 care practitioner is licensed.
138 (3)(a) Any advertisement by a health care practitioner must
139 disclose the type of license under which the health care
140 practitioner is authorized to provide services and must use only
141 those titles and abbreviations authorized under subsection (2).
142 Only physicians may include titles and abbreviations or medical
143 specialties in their advertisements, as specified in paragraph
144 (2)(a).
145 (b) Health care practitioners may not use deceptive or
146 misleading terms or false representation in their
147 advertisements.
148 (4) Health care practitioners who treat patients in person
149 must wear a name badge or other form of identification on their
150 clothing that clearly discloses the practitioner’s name, the
151 practitioner’s staff position, if applicable, and the type of
152 license, registration, or certification held by the
153 practitioner. Any title or abbreviation used in such
154 identification must be consistent with the requirements of this
155 section.
156 (5) If a health care practitioner treats patients in a
157 setting other than a health care facility licensed under chapter
158 395 or chapter 400, the health care practitioner must
159 prominently display a copy of his or her license in a
160 conspicuous area of the practice so that it is easily visible to
161 patients. The copy of the license must be no smaller than the
162 original license.
163 (6) Any violation of this section constitutes grounds for
164 denial of a license or disciplinary action as specified in the
165 health care practitioner’s respective practice act and as
166 specified in s. 456.072(2).
167 (7) Each board, or the department where there is no board,
168 shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to
169 implement this section.
170 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.