Florida Statutes Title XXXII Chapter 456 - Health Professions And Occupations: General Provisions

• 456.001 - Definitions.
  As used in this chapter, the term:(1) “Board” means any board or commission, or other statutorily created entity to the extent such entity is authorized to...
• 456.002 - Applicability.
  This chapter applies only to the regulation by the department of professions.History.—s. 34, ch. 97-261; s. 37, ch. 2000-160.Note.—Former s. 455.504.
• 456.003 - Legislative Intent; Requirements.
  (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that persons desiring to engage in any lawful profession regulated by the department shall be entitled to do...
• 456.004 - Department; Powers And Duties.
  The department, for the professions under its jurisdiction, shall:(1) Adopt rules establishing a procedure for the biennial renewal of licenses; however, the department may issue up...
• 456.005 - Long-range Policy Planning.
  To facilitate efficient and cost-effective regulation, the department and the board, if appropriate, shall develop and implement a long-range policy planning and monitoring process that...
• 456.006 - Contacting Boards Through Department.
  Each board under the jurisdiction of the department may be contacted through the headquarters of the department in the City of Tallahassee.History.—s. 41, ch. 97-261;...
• 456.007 - Board Members.
  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person who otherwise meets the requirements of law for board membership and who is connected in...
• 456.008 - Accountability And Liability Of Board Members.
  (1) Each board member shall be accountable to the Governor for the proper performance of duties as a member of the board. The Governor shall investigate...
• 456.009 - Legal And Investigative Services.
  (1) The department shall provide board counsel for boards within the department by contracting with the Department of Legal Affairs, by retaining private counsel pursuant to...
• 456.011 - Boards; Organization; Meetings; Compensation And Travel Expenses.
  (1) Each board within the department shall comply with the provisions of this chapter.(2) The board shall annually elect from among its number a chairperson and vice...
• 456.012 - Board Rules; Final Agency Action; Challenges.
  (1) The State Surgeon General shall have standing to challenge any rule or proposed rule of a board under its jurisdiction pursuant to s. 120.56. In...
• 456.013 - Department; General Licensing Provisions.
  (1)(a) Any person desiring to be licensed in a profession within the jurisdiction of the department shall apply to the department in writing to take the...
• 456.0135 - General Background Screening Provisions.
  (1) An application for initial licensure received on or after January 1, 2013, under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, chapter 461, chapter 464, s. 465.022,...
• 456.014 - Public Inspection Of Information Required From Applicants; Exceptions; Examination Hearing.
  (1) All information required by the department of any applicant shall be a public record and shall be open to public inspection pursuant to s. 119.07,...
• 456.015 - Limited Licenses.
  (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that, absent a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, the use of retired professionals...
• 456.016 - Use Of Professional Testing Services.
  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the department may use a professional testing service to prepare, administer, grade, and evaluate any computerized...
• 456.017 - Examinations.
  (1)(a) The department shall provide, contract, or approve services for the development, preparation, administration, scoring, score reporting, and evaluation of all examinations, in consultation with the...
• 456.018 - Penalty For Theft Or Reproduction Of An Examination.
  In addition to, or in lieu of, any other discipline imposed pursuant to s. 456.072, the theft of an examination in whole or in part...
• 456.019 - Restriction On Requirement Of Citizenship.
  A person is not disqualified from practicing an occupation or profession regulated by the state solely because she or he is not a United States...
• 456.021 - Qualification Of Immigrants For Examination To Practice A Licensed Profession Or Occupation.
  (1) It is the declared purpose of this section to encourage the use of foreign-speaking Florida residents duly qualified to become actively qualified in their professions...
• 456.022 - Foreign-trained Professionals; Special Examination And License Provisions.
  (1) When not otherwise provided by law, within its jurisdiction, the department shall by rule provide procedures under which exiled professionals may be examined within each...
• 456.023 - Exemption For Certain Out-of-state Or Foreign Professionals; Limited Practice Permitted.
  (1) A professional of any other state or of any territory or other jurisdiction of the United States or of any other nation or foreign jurisdiction...
• 456.024 - Members Of Armed Forces In Good Standing With Administrative Boards Or The Department; Spouses; Licensure.
  (1) Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States now or hereafter on active duty who, at the time of becoming such a member,...
• 456.025 - Fees; Receipts; Disposition.
  (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that all costs of regulating health care professions and practitioners shall be borne solely by licensees and licensure...
• 456.026 - Annual Report Concerning Finances, Administrative Complaints, Disciplinary Actions, And Recommendations.
  The department is directed to prepare and submit a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by...
• 456.027 - Education; Accreditation.
  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, educational programs and institutions which are required by statute to be accredited, but which were accredited by an agency...
• 456.028 - Consultation With Postsecondary Education Boards Prior To Adoption Of Changes To Training Requirements.
  Any state agency or board that has jurisdiction over the regulation of a profession or occupation shall consult with the Commission for Independent Education, the...
• 456.029 - Education; Substituting Demonstration Of Competency For Clock-hour Requirements.
  Any board, or the department when there is no board, that requires student completion of a specific number of clock hours of classroom instruction for...
• 456.031 - Requirement For Instruction On Domestic Violence.
  (1)(a) The appropriate board shall require each person licensed or certified under chapter 458, chapter 459, part I of chapter 464, chapter 466, chapter 467, chapter...
• 456.032 - Hepatitis B Or Hiv Carriers.
  (1) The department and each appropriate board within the Division of Medical Quality Assurance shall have the authority to establish procedures to handle, counsel, and provide...
• 456.033 - Requirement For Instruction For Certain Licensees On Hiv And Aids.
  The following requirements apply to each person licensed or certified under chapter 457; chapter 458; chapter 459; chapter 460; chapter 461; chapter 463; part I...
• 456.035 - Address Of Record.
  (1) Each licensee of the department is solely responsible for notifying the department in writing of the licensee’s current mailing address and place of practice, as...
• 456.036 - Licenses; Active And Inactive Status; Delinquency.
  (1) A licensee may practice a profession only if the licensee has an active status license. A licensee who practices a profession with an inactive status...
• 456.037 - Business Establishments; Requirements For Active Status Licenses; Delinquency; Discipline; Applicability.
  (1) A business establishment regulated by the Division of Medical Quality Assurance pursuant to this chapter may provide regulated services only if the business establishment has...
• 456.038 - Renewal And Cancellation Notices.
  (1) At least 90 days before the end of a licensure cycle, the department shall:(a) Forward a licensure renewal notification to an active or inactive status licensee...
• 456.039 - Designated Health Care Professionals; Information Required For Licensure.
  (1) Each person who applies for initial licensure as a physician under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, or chapter 461, except a person applying for...
• 456.0391 - Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners; Information Required For Certification.
  (1)(a) Each person who applies for initial certification under s. 464.012 must, at the time of application, and each person certified under s. 464.012 who applies...
• 456.0392 - Prescription Labeling.
  (1) A prescription written by a practitioner who is authorized under the laws of this state to write prescriptions for drugs that are not listed as...
• 456.041 - Practitioner Profile; Creation.
  (1)(a) The Department of Health shall compile the information submitted pursuant to s. 456.039 into a practitioner profile of the applicant submitting the information, except that...
• 456.042 - Practitioner Profiles; Update.
  A practitioner must submit updates of required information within 15 days after the final activity that renders such information a fact. The Department of Health...
• 456.043 - Practitioner Profiles; Data Storage.
  Effective upon this act becoming a law, the Department of Health must develop or contract for a computer system to accommodate the new data collection...
• 456.044 - Practitioner Profiles; Rules; Workshops.
  Effective upon this act becoming a law, the Department of Health shall adopt rules for the form of a practitioner profile that the agency is...
• 456.045 - Practitioner Profiles; Maintenance Of Superseded Information.
  Information in superseded practitioner profiles must be maintained by the Department of Health, in accordance with general law and the rules of the Department of...
• 456.046 - Practitioner Profiles; Confidentiality.
  Any patient name or other information that identifies a patient which is in a record obtained by the Department of Health or its agent for...
• 456.048 - Financial Responsibility Requirements For Certain Health Care Practitioners.
  (1) As a prerequisite for licensure or license renewal, the Board of Acupuncture, the Board of Chiropractic Medicine, the Board of Podiatric Medicine, and the Board...
• 456.049 - Health Care Practitioners; Reports On Professional Liability Claims And Actions.
  Any practitioner of medicine licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 458, practitioner of osteopathic medicine licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 459, podiatric...
• 456.051 - Reports Of Professional Liability Actions; Bankruptcies; Department Of Health’s Responsibility To Provide.
  (1) The report of a claim or action for damages for personal injury which is required to be provided to the Department of Health under s....
• 456.052 - Disclosure Of Financial Interest By Production.
  (1) A health care provider shall not refer a patient to an entity in which such provider is an investor unless, prior to the referral, the...
• 456.053 - Financial Arrangements Between Referring Health Care Providers And Providers Of Health Care Services.
  (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Patient Self-Referral Act of 1992.”(2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is recognized by the Legislature that the referral of a patient...
• 456.054 - Kickbacks Prohibited.
  (1) As used in this section, the term “kickback” means a remuneration or payment, by or on behalf of a provider of health care services or...
• 456.055 - Chiropractic And Podiatric Health Care; Denial Of Payment; Limitation.
  A chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460 or a podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461 shall not be denied payment for treatment rendered solely on...
• 456.056 - Treatment Of Medicare Beneficiaries; Refusal, Emergencies, Consulting Physicians.
  (1) Effective as of January 1, 1993, as used in this section, the term:(a) “Physician” means a physician licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under...
• 456.057 - Ownership And Control Of Patient Records; Report Or Copies Of Records To Be Furnished; Disclosure Of Information.
  (1) As used in this section, the term “records owner” means any health care practitioner who generates a medical record after making a physical or mental...
• 456.0575 - Duty To Notify Patients.
  Every licensed health care practitioner shall inform each patient, or an individual identified pursuant to s. 765.401(1), in person about adverse incidents that result in...
• 456.058 - Disposition Of Records Of Deceased Practitioners Or Practitioners Relocating Or Terminating Practice.
  Each board created under the provisions of chapter 457, chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, chapter 461, chapter 463, part I of chapter 464, chapter...
• 456.059 - Communications Confidential; Exceptions.
  Communications between a patient and a psychiatrist, as defined in s. 394.455, shall be held confidential and shall not be disclosed except upon the request...
• 456.061 - Practitioner Disclosure Of Confidential Information; Immunity From Civil Or Criminal Liability.
  (1) A practitioner regulated through the Division of Medical Quality Assurance of the department shall not be civilly or criminally liable for the disclosure of otherwise...
• 456.062 - Advertisement By A Health Care Practitioner Of Free Or Discounted Services; Required Statement.
  In any advertisement for a free, discounted fee, or reduced fee service, examination, or treatment by a health care practitioner licensed under chapter 458, chapter...
• 456.063 - Sexual Misconduct; Disqualification For License, Certificate, Or Registration.
  (1) Sexual misconduct in the practice of a health care profession means violation of the professional relationship through which the health care practitioner uses such relationship...
• 456.0635 - Health Care Fraud; Disqualification For License, Certificate, Or Registration.
  (1) Health care fraud in the practice of a health care profession is prohibited.(2) Each board within the jurisdiction of the department, or the department if there...
• 456.065 - Unlicensed Practice Of A Health Care Profession; Intent; Cease And Desist Notice; Penalties; Enforcement; Citations; Fees; Allocation And Disposition Of Moneys Collected.
  (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that vigorous enforcement of licensure regulation for all health care professions is a state priority in order to...
• 456.066 - Prosecution Of Criminal Violations.
  The department or the appropriate board shall report any criminal violation of any statute relating to the practice of a profession regulated by the department...
• 456.067 - Penalty For Giving False Information.
  In addition to, or in lieu of, any other discipline imposed pursuant to s. 456.072, the act of knowingly giving false information in the course...
• 456.068 - Toll-free Telephone Number For Reporting Of Complaints.
  The Agency for Health Care Administration shall establish a toll-free telephone number for public reporting of complaints relating to medical treatment or services provided by...
• 456.069 - Authority To Inspect.
  In addition to the authority specified in s. 465.017, duly authorized agents and employees of the department shall have the power to inspect in a...
• 456.071 - Power To Administer Oaths, Take Depositions, And Issue Subpoenas.
  For the purpose of any investigation or proceeding conducted by the department, the department shall have the power to administer oaths, take depositions, make inspections...
• 456.072 - Grounds For Discipline; Penalties; Enforcement.
  (1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be taken:(a) Making misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent representations in or...
• 456.0721 - Practitioners In Default On Student Loan Or Scholarship Obligations; Investigation; Report.
  The Department of Health shall obtain from the United States Department of Health and Human Services information necessary to investigate and prosecute health care practitioners...
• 456.073 - Disciplinary Proceedings.
  Disciplinary proceedings for each board shall be within the jurisdiction of the department.(1) The department, for the boards under its jurisdiction, shall cause to be investigated...
• 456.074 - Certain Health Care Practitioners; Immediate Suspension Of License.
  (1) The department shall issue an emergency order suspending the license of any person licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, chapter 461, chapter 462,...
• 456.075 - Criminal Proceedings Against Licensees; Appearances By Department Representatives.
  In any criminal proceeding against a person licensed by the department to practice a health care profession in this state, a representative of the department...
• 456.076 - Treatment Programs For Impaired Practitioners.
  (1) For professions that do not have impaired practitioner programs provided for in their practice acts, the department shall, by rule, designate approved impaired practitioner programs...
• 456.077 - Authority To Issue Citations.
  (1) Notwithstanding s. 456.073, the board, or the department if there is no board, shall adopt rules to permit the issuance of citations. The citation shall...
• 456.078 - Mediation.
  (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 456.073, the board, or the department when there is no board, shall adopt rules to designate which violations of the...
• 456.079 - Disciplinary Guidelines.
  (1) Each board, or the department if there is no board, shall adopt by rule and periodically review the disciplinary guidelines applicable to each ground for...
• 456.081 - Publication Of Information.
  The department and the boards shall have the authority to advise licensees periodically, through the publication of a newsletter on the department’s website, about information...
• 456.082 - Disclosure Of Confidential Information.
  (1) No officer, employee, or person under contract with the department, or any board therein, or any subject of an investigation shall convey knowledge or information...
• 456.36 - Health Care Professionals; Exemption From Disqualification From Employment Or Contracting.
  Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, only the appropriate regulatory board, or the department when there is no board, may grant an...
• 456.38 - Practitioner Registry For Disasters And Emergencies.
  The Department of Health may include on its forms for the licensure or certification of health care practitioners, as defined in s. 456.001, who could...
• 456.41 - Complementary Or Alternative Health Care Treatments.
  (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that citizens be able to make informed choices for any type of health care they deem to...
• 456.42 - Written Prescriptions For Medicinal Drugs.
  (1) A written prescription for a medicinal drug issued by a health care practitioner licensed by law to prescribe such drug must be legibly printed or...
• 456.43 - Electronic Prescribing For Medicinal Drugs.
  (1) Electronic prescribing shall not interfere with a patient’s freedom to choose a pharmacy.(2) Electronic prescribing software shall not use any means or permit any other person...
• 456.44 - Controlled Substance Prescribing.
  (1) DEFINITIONS.—(a) “Addiction medicine specialist” means a board-certified psychiatrist with a subspecialty certification in addiction medicine or who is eligible for such subspecialty certification in addiction medicine,...
• 456.50 - Repeated Medical Malpractice.
  (1) For purposes of s. 26, Art. X of the State Constitution and ss. 458.331(1)(t), (4), and (5) and 459.015(1)(x), (4), and (5):(a) “Board” means the Board...

Last modified: September 23, 2016