New Legislation Impacting Your Profession

Effective Date: July 1, 2021
HB 241 (Full Text)

Summary: The bill creates the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which states that licensed health care providers and facilities cannot provide services, prescribe medicine, or perform any procedure without first obtaining written parental consent unless otherwise authorized by law.

The bill requires a health care practitioner, or his or her employees, to obtain parental consent before performing health care services on a minor child and subjects health care practitioners and health care facilities to disciplinary action for violation of these parental consent requirements in certain instances. The bill includes criminal penalties as well as providing grounds for disciplinary action.

Effective Date: July 1, 2021
SB 262 (Full Text)

Summary:

The bill authorizes medicinal drugs to be dispensed by a hospital that operates a Class II or Class Ill institutional pharmacy to any inpatient upon discharge or patient discharged from an emergency department if the prescribing practitioner determines that the medicinal drug is warranted and community pharmacy services are not readily accessible to the patient. The drug may be dispensed up to a 48-hour supply or through the end of the next business day.

During a declared state of emergency, a 72-hour supply may be dispensed by a hospital located in an area affected by the emergency.

Effective Date: July 1, 2021
SB 530 (Full Text)

Summary:
The bill allows prescribing health care practitioners, who are required to provide information about nonopioid alternatives, to provide health care patients (or their representatives under certain circumstances) the required educational pamphlet electronically in lieu of providing a printed copy.

Effective Date: July 1, 2021
SB 716 (Full Text)

Summary:

The bill amends section 456.51, Florida Statutes, relating to informed consent for pelvic examinations. The bill excludes visual assessment, imaging, and diagnostic medical or surgical procedures from the definition of pelvic examination, requires informed verbal consent of conscious patients in addition to written consent, prescribes those circumstances when consent is not required, and limits the need for informed consent to the initial pelvic examination of a pregnant woman under certain circumstances.

Effective Date: July 1, 2021
SB 1770 (Full Text)

Summary:

The bill creates a licensed and regulated profession, genetic counseling, within the Department of Health, Division of Medical Quality Assurance, in part III of chapter 483, Florida Statutes, and authorizes the new practice act to be cited as the “Genetic Counseling Workforce Act.”

The bill provides:

• Legislative intent and findings to establish a new profession;
• Definitions for genetic counselor;
• Scope of practice for genetic counseling;
• Requirements for initial licensure, renewal, and continuing education;
• Grounds for disciplinary action and penalties; and
• Exemptions from genetic counseling regulation for:
  • Commissioned medical officers of the United States Armed Forces or Public Health Service while on active duty; and
  • Health care practitioners as defined in section 456.001, Florida Statutes, other than genetic counselors, who are practicing within the scope of their education, training, and licensure.

The bill also amends sections 456.001 and 20.43, Florida Statutes, to include genetic counselors in the definition of a health care practitioner.

Effective Date: July 1, 2021
SB 1934 (Full Text)

Summary:

The bill requires certain offenses be included in grounds for discipline for health care practitioners. It requires the Department of Health to issue an Emergency Order suspending the license of any health care practitioner who is arrested for committing or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit any act that would constitute a violation of certain offenses in this state or similar offenses in another jurisdiction.