Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1162
By Senator Ingoglia
11-00030A-24 20241162__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to veterinary practices; creating s.
3 474.2021, F.S.; providing a short title; authorizing
4 licensed veterinarians to practice veterinary
5 telehealth in accordance with specified criteria;
6 specifying the powers of the Board of Veterinary
7 Medicine related to the practice of telehealth;
8 specifying the conditions under which a veterinarian
9 may practice veterinary telehealth; specifying the
10 drugs a veterinarian practicing telehealth may not
11 provide under specified circumstances; providing
12 specific authorizations for cases where a patient is a
13 food-producing species; amending s. 474.2165, F.S.;
14 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
15 amending s. 828.30, F.S.; authorizing specified people
16 to vaccinate dogs, cats, and ferrets against rabies if
17 certain conditions are met; providing that a
18 supervising veterinarian assumes responsibility for
19 specified people who provide the vaccinations;
20 authorizing veterinarians to affix their signature
21 stamp in lieu of a signature in specified cases;
22 providing an effective date.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Section 474.2021, Florida Statutes, is created
27 to read:
28 474.2021 Veterinary telehealth.—
29 (1) This section may be cited as the “Providing Equity in
30 Telehealth Services Act.”
31 (2) A veterinarian who holds a current license to practice
32 veterinary medicine in this state may practice veterinary
33 telehealth. For purposes of this section, the term “telehealth”
34 has the same meaning as in s. 456.47(1).
35 (3) The board has jurisdiction over a veterinarian
36 practicing veterinary telehealth, regardless of where the
37 veterinarian’s physical office is located. The practice of
38 veterinary medicine is deemed to occur at the premises where the
39 patient is located at the time the veterinarian practices
40 veterinary telehealth.
41 (4) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth:
42 (a) May not engage in the practice of veterinary telehealth
43 unless it is within the context of a veterinarian/client/patient
44 relationship;
45 (b) Must practice in a manner consistent with his or her
46 scope of practice and the prevailing professional standard of
47 practice for a veterinarian who provides in-person veterinary
48 services to patients in this state;
49 (c) May use telehealth to perform a patient evaluation. If
50 a veterinarian practicing telehealth conducts a patient
51 evaluation sufficient to diagnose and treat the patient, the
52 veterinarian is not required to research a patient’s medical
53 history or conduct a physical examination of the patient before
54 using veterinary telehealth to provide a veterinary health care
55 service to the patient; and
56 (d) Must prescribe all drugs and medications in accordance
57 with all federal and state laws. A veterinarian practicing
58 veterinary telehealth may order, prescribe, or make available
59 medicinal drugs or drugs as defined in s. 465.003. A
60 veterinarian may not use telehealth to prescribe a controlled
61 substance listed in Schedule II of s. 893.03.
62 (5) A veterinarian personally acquainted with the caring
63 and keeping of an animal or a group of animals on food-producing
64 animal operations on land classified as agricultural pursuant to
65 s. 193.461 who has recently seen the animal or group of animals
66 or has made medically appropriate and timely visits to the
67 premises where the animal or group of animals is kept may
68 practice veterinary telehealth for animals on such operations.
69 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 474.2165, Florida
70 Statutes, is amended to read:
71 474.2165 Ownership and control of veterinary medical
72 patient records; report or copies of records to be furnished.—
73 (1) As used in this section, the term “records owner” means
74 any veterinarian who generates a medical record after making an
75 a physical examination of, or administering treatment or
76 dispensing legend drugs to, any patient; any veterinarian to
77 whom records are transferred by a previous records owner; or any
78 veterinarian’s employer, provided the employment contract or
79 agreement between the employer and the veterinarian designates
80 the employer as the records owner.
81 Section 3. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 828.30,
82 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
83 828.30 Rabies vaccination of dogs, cats, and ferrets.—
84 (1)(a) All dogs, cats, and ferrets 4 months of age or older
85 must be vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian against rabies
86 with a vaccine that is licensed by the United States Department
87 of Agriculture for use in those species.
88 (b) The following persons who operate under the indirect
89 supervision of a veterinarian may vaccinate any dog, cat, or
90 ferret against rabies if the animal is in the custody of an
91 animal control authority, sheriff, or shelter and if that animal
92 will be transferred, rescued, fostered, adopted, or reclaimed by
93 the owner:
94 1. An employee, an agent, or a contractor of a county or
95 municipal animal control authority or sheriff; or
96 2. A veterinary technician who is an employee, an agent, or
97 a contractor of a private, nonprofit animal shelter with a
98 premises permit as required under s. 474.215(1) and that employs
99 a full-time staff veterinarian.
100
101 The supervising veterinarian assumes responsibility for any
102 person who vaccinates animals against rabies at his or her
103 direction or supervision. As used in this paragraph, the term
104 “indirect supervision” means the supervising veterinarian is
105 available for consultation through telecommunications but is not
106 required to be physically present during such consultation.
107 (c) The owner of every dog, cat, and ferret shall have the
108 animal revaccinated 12 months after the initial vaccination.
109 Thereafter, the interval between vaccinations shall conform to
110 the vaccine manufacturer’s directions. The cost of vaccination
111 must be borne by the animal’s owner. Evidence of circulating
112 rabies virus neutralizing antibodies may shall not be used as a
113 substitute for current vaccination in managing rabies exposure
114 or determining the need for booster vaccinations.
115 (3) Upon vaccination against rabies, the licensed
116 veterinarian shall provide the animal’s owner and the animal
117 control authority with a rabies vaccination certificate. Each
118 animal control authority and veterinarian shall use the “Rabies
119 Vaccination Certificate” of the National Association of State
120 Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) or an equivalent form
121 approved by the local government that contains all the
122 information required by the NASPHV Rabies Vaccination
123 Certificate. The veterinarian who administers the rabies
124 vaccination, or who supervises the administration of the rabies
125 vaccination as provided in paragraph (1)(b), vaccine to an
126 animal as authorized required under this section may affix his
127 or her signature stamp in lieu of an actual signature.
128 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.