Florida Senate - 2025 SB 172 By Senator Burton 12-00972-25 2025172__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to health care practitioner specialty 3 titles and designations; amending s. 456.003, F.S.; 4 revising legislative findings; creating s. 456.65, 5 F.S.; prohibiting the use of specified titles and 6 designations by health care practitioners not licensed 7 as physicians or osteopathic physicians, as 8 applicable, with an exception; providing that the use 9 of such titles and designations constitutes the 10 unlicensed practice of medicine or osteopathic 11 medicine, as applicable; authorizing the Department of 12 Health to pursue specified remedies for such 13 violations; authorizing health care practitioners to 14 use names and titles, and their corresponding 15 designations and initials, authorized by their 16 respective practice acts; specifying the manner in 17 which health care practitioners may represent their 18 specialty practice areas; specifying titles and 19 abbreviations certain health care practitioners may 20 use; providing construction; amending ss. 458.3312 and 21 459.0152, F.S.; specifying specialist titles and 22 designations that physicians and osteopathic 23 physicians, respectively, are prohibited from using 24 unless they have received formal recognition by the 25 appropriate recognizing agency for such specialty 26 certifications; authorizing the Board of Medicine and 27 the Board of Osteopathic Medicine, as applicable, to 28 adopt certain rules; providing an effective date. 29 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31 32 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 456.003, Florida 33 Statutes, is amended to read: 34 456.003 Legislative intent; requirements.— 35 (2) The Legislature further findsbelievesthat such 36 professions mustshallbe regulated only for the preservation of 37 the health, safety, and welfare of the public under the police 38 powers of the state, and that the health, safety, and welfare of 39 the public may be harmed or endangered by the unlawful practice 40 of a profession; by a misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent 41 representation relating to a person’s authority to practice a 42 profession lawfully; or when patients are uninformed about the 43 profession under which a health care practitioner is practicing 44 before receiving professional consultation or services from the 45 practitioner. As a matter of great public importance, such 46 professions mustshallbe regulated when: 47 (a) Their unregulated practice can harm or endanger the 48 health, safety, and welfare of the public, and when the 49 potential for such harm is recognizable and clearly outweighs 50 any anticompetitive impact which may result from regulation. 51 (b) The public is not effectively protected by other means, 52 including, but not limited to, other state statutes, local 53 ordinances, or federal legislation. 54 (c) Less restrictive means of regulation are not available. 55 Section 2. Section 456.65, Florida Statutes, is created to 56 read: 57 456.65 Specialties.— 58 (1)(a) A health care practitioner not licensed as a 59 physician under chapter 458 may not hold himself or herself out 60 to a patient or the public at large as a specialist by 61 describing himself or herself or his or her practice through the 62 use of any specialist title or designation specifically listed 63 under s. 458.3312(2), either alone or in combination, or in 64 connection with other words, unless the practitioner is 65 authorized to use such specialist title or designation under 66 subsection (2). 67 (b) A health care practitioner not licensed as a physician 68 under chapter 459 may not hold himself or herself out to a 69 patient or the public at large as a specialist by describing 70 himself or herself or his or her practice through the use of any 71 specialist title or designation specifically listed under s. 72 459.0152(2), either alone or in combination, or in connection 73 with other words, unless the practitioner is authorized to use 74 such specialist title or designation under subsection (2). 75 (c) A violation of paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) 76 constitutes the unlicensed practice of medicine or osteopathic 77 medicine, as applicable, and the department may pursue remedies 78 under s. 456.065 for such violation. 79 (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1): 80 (a) A licensed health care practitioner may use the name or 81 title of his or her profession which is authorized under his or 82 her practice act, and any corresponding designations or initials 83 so authorized, to describe himself or herself and his or her 84 practice. 85 (b) A licensed health care practitioner who has a specialty 86 area of practice authorized under his or her practice act may 87 use the following format to identify himself or herself or 88 describe his or her practice: “...(name or title of the 89 practitioner’s profession)..., specializing in ...(name of the 90 practitioner’s specialty)....” 91 (c) A chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460 may 92 use the title “chiropractic radiologist” and other titles, 93 abbreviations, or designations authorized under his or her 94 practice act reflecting those chiropractic specialty areas in 95 which the chiropractic physician has attained diplomate status 96 as recognized by the American Chiropractic Association, the 97 International Chiropractors Association, the International 98 Academy of Clinical Neurology, or the International Chiropractic 99 Pediatric Association. 100 (d) A podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461 may 101 use the following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his 102 or her license, specialty, and certification: “podiatric 103 surgeon,” “Fellow in the American College of Foot and Ankle 104 Surgeons,” and any other titles or abbreviations authorized 105 under his or her practice act. 106 (e) A dentist licensed under chapter 466 may use the 107 following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his or her 108 license, specialty, and certification: “doctor of dental 109 surgery,” “D.D.S.,” “oral surgeon,” “maxillofacial surgeon,” 110 “oral and maxillofacial surgeon,” “O.M.S.,” “dental 111 anesthesiologist,” “oral pathologist,” “oral radiologist,” and 112 any other titles or abbreviations authorized under his or her 113 practice act. 114 (f) An anesthesiologist assistant licensed under chapter 115 458 or chapter 459 may use only the titles “anesthesiologist 116 assistant” or “certified anesthesiologist assistant” and the 117 abbreviation “C.A.A.” 118 (3) This section may not be construed to prohibit or 119 interfere with a licensed practitioner’s ability to bill 120 lawfully the Medicare program or other federal health care 121 program using definitions or terminology provided under 122 applicable federal law or regulations for services rendered to a 123 patient enrolled in such program. 124 Section 3. Section 458.3312, Florida Statutes, is amended 125 to read: 126 458.3312 Specialties.— 127 (1) A physician licensed under this chapter may not hold 128 himself or herself out as a board-certified specialist unless 129 the physician has received formal recognition as a specialist 130 from a specialty board of the American Board of Medical 131 Specialties or other recognizing agency that has been approved 132 by the board. However, a physician may indicate the services 133 offered and may state that his or her practice is limited to one 134 or more types of services when this accurately reflects the 135 scope of practice of the physician. 136 (2) Specialist titles and designations that are subject to 137 subsection (1) include: 138 (a) Surgeon. 139 (b) Neurosurgeon. 140 (c) General surgeon. 141 (d) Anesthesiologist. 142 (e) Cardiologist. 143 (f) Dermatologist. 144 (g) Endocrinologist. 145 (h) Gastroenterologist. 146 (i) Gynecologist. 147 (j) Hematologist. 148 (k) Hospitalist. 149 (l) Intensivist. 150 (m) Internist. 151 (n) Laryngologist. 152 (o) Nephrologist. 153 (p) Neurologist. 154 (q) Obstetrician. 155 (r) Oncologist. 156 (s) Ophthalmologist. 157 (t) Orthopedic surgeon. 158 (u) Orthopedist. 159 (v) Otologist. 160 (w) Otolaryngologist. 161 (x) Otorhinolaryngologist. 162 (y) Pathologist. 163 (z) Pediatrician. 164 (aa) Proctologist. 165 (bb) Psychiatrist. 166 (cc) Radiologist. 167 (dd) Rheumatologist. 168 (ee) Rhinologist. 169 (ff) Urologist. 170 (3) The board may adopt by rule additional specialist 171 titles and designations that are subject to subsection (1). 172 Section 4. Section 459.0152, Florida Statutes, is amended 173 to read: 174 459.0152 Specialties.— 175 (1) An osteopathic physician licensed under this chapter 176 may not hold himself or herself out as a board-certified 177 specialist unless the osteopathic physician has successfully 178 completed the requirements for certification by the American 179 Osteopathic Association or the Accreditation Council on Graduate 180 Medical Education and is certified as a specialist by a 181 certifying agency approved by the board. However, an osteopathic 182 physician may indicate the services offered and may state that 183 his or her practice is limited to one or more types of services 184 when this accurately reflects the scope of practice of the 185 osteopathic physician. 186 (2) Specialist titles and designations that are subject to 187 subsection (1) include: 188 (a) Surgeon. 189 (b) Neurosurgeon. 190 (c) General surgeon. 191 (d) Anesthesiologist. 192 (e) Cardiologist. 193 (f) Dermatologist. 194 (g) Endocrinologist. 195 (h) Gastroenterologist. 196 (i) Gynecologist. 197 (j) Hematologist. 198 (k) Hospitalist. 199 (l) Intensivist. 200 (m) Internist. 201 (n) Laryngologist. 202 (o) Nephrologist. 203 (p) Neurologist. 204 (q) Obstetrician. 205 (r) Oncologist. 206 (s) Ophthalmologist. 207 (t) Orthopedic surgeon. 208 (u) Orthopedist. 209 (v) Otologist. 210 (w) Otolaryngologist. 211 (x) Otorhinolaryngologist. 212 (y) Pathologist. 213 (z) Pediatrician. 214 (aa) Proctologist. 215 (bb) Psychiatrist. 216 (cc) Radiologist. 217 (dd) Rheumatologist. 218 (ee) Rhinologist. 219 (ff) Urologist. 220 (3) The board may adopt by rule additional specialist 221 titles and designations that are subject to subsection (1). 222 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.