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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to medical treatment of animals; 2
amending s. 474.202, F.S.; defining the term 3
"veterinary telemedicine"; creating s. 474.2021, F.S.; 4
authorizing the use of veterinary telemedicine; 5
requiring a veterinarian to establish a 6
veterinarian/client/patient relationship to practice 7
veterinary telemedicine; authorizing a veterinarian 8
practicing veterinary telemedicine to order, 9
prescribe, or make available certain drugs or 10
controlled substances under specified circumstances; 11
prohibiting a veterinarian practicing veterinary 12
telemedicine from ordering, prescribing, or making 13
available specified controlled substances; providing 14
an exception; providing licensure requirements to 15
practice veterinary telemedicine; providing 16
jurisdiction of the Board of Veteri nary Medicine; 17
amending s. 474.203, F.S.; providing an exception to 18
who may immunize or treat an animal for certain 19
diseases; amending s. 474.214, F.S.; revising grounds 20
for disciplinary action against a veterinarian; 21
amending s. 828.30, F.S.; authorizing certain 22
employees, agents, or contractors to administer rabies 23
vaccinations under certain circumstances; defining the 24
term "indirect supervision"; providing that a 25
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supervising veterinarian assumes responsibility for 26
any person working under or at his or he r direction 27
and supervision; authorizing a veterinarian who 28
indirectly supervises the administration of the rabies 29
vaccination to affix his or her signature stamp in 30
lieu of an actual signature on the rabies vaccination 31
certificate; providing an effective date. 32
33
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34
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Section 1. Subsection (13) is added to section 474.202, 36
Florida Statutes, to read: 37
474.202 Definitions. —As used in this chapter: 38
(13) "Veterinary telemedicine" means the use of 39
synchronous telecommunication technology by a veterinarian who 40
has access to and has reviewed the patient's relevant medical 41
records to provide veterinary services, including, but not 42
limited to, consultation, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment 43
of a patient; transfer of medical records; and exchange of 44
information with a client. 45
Section 2. Section 474.2021, Florida Statutes, is created 46
to read: 47
474.2021 Veterinary telemedicine. — 48
(1) A veterinarian may practice veterinary telemedicine. 49
(2) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine 50
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shall take appropriate steps to establish the 51
veterinarian/client/patient relationship and provide quality of 52
care consistent with the prevailing professional standards of 53
care for a veterinarian. 54
(3) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine may 55
order, prescribe, or make available medicinal drugs or drugs as 56
defined in chapter 465. 57
(4) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine may 58
order, prescribe, or make available controlled substances as 59
defined in chapter 893, except as provided in subsection (5), if 60
the veterinarian has previously performed an in -person physical 61
examination of the patient or made medically appropriate and 62
timely visits to the premises where the animal is kept. 63
(5) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telemedicine may 64
not use veterinary telemedicine to order, prescribe, or make 65
available controlled substances listed in Schedule II of s. 66
893.03 unless the controlled substance is ordered, prescribed, 67
or made available for the treatment of a terminal patient that 68
is transferred to the veterinarian practicing veterinary 69
telemedicine for hospice services by a veterinarian who has 70
previously performed an in -person physical examination of the 71
patient or made medically appropriate a nd timely visits to the 72
premises where the animal is kept and the veterinarian 73
practicing veterinary telemedicine has reviewed the patient's 74
medical records. 75
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(6) A veterinarian must hold a current license to practice 76
veterinary medicine in this state in order to practice 77
veterinary telemedicine. The practice of veterinary medicine is 78
deemed to occur at the premises where the patient is located at 79
the time the veterinarian practices veterinary telemedicine. 80
(7) The board has jurisdiction over a veterinar ian 81
practicing veterinary telemedicine in this state, regardless of 82
where the veterinarian's physical office is located. The 83
practice of veterinary telemedicine in accordance with this 84
section is not a standard of care violation, and a veterinarian 85
may not be disciplined solely for practicing veterinary 86
telemedicine. 87
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 88
474.203, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 89
474.203 Exemptions. —This chapter does not apply to: 90
(5)(a) Any person, or the person's regular employee, 91
administering to the ills or injuries of her or his own animals, 92
including, but not limited to, castration, spaying, and 93
dehorning of herd animals, unless title is transferred or 94
employment provided for the purpose of circumventing this law. 95
This exemption does not apply to any person licensed as a 96
veterinarian in another state or foreign jurisdiction and 97
practicing temporarily in this state. However, except as 98
provided in s. 828.30, only a veterinarian may immunize or treat 99
an animal for diseases that are communicable to humans and that 100
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are of public health significance. 101
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For the purposes of chapters 465 and 893, persons exempt 103
pursuant to subsection (1), subsection (2), or subsection (4) 104
are deemed to be duly licensed practitioners authorized by the 105
laws of this state to prescribe drugs or medicinal supplies. 106
Section 4. Paragraph (y) of subsection (1) of section 107
474.214, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 108
474.214 Disciplinary proceedings. — 109
(1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which 110
the disciplinary actions in subsection (2) may be taken: 111
(y) Using the privilege of ordering, prescribing, or 112
making available medicinal drugs or drugs as defined in chapter 113
465, or controlled substa nces as defined in chapter 893, for use 114
other than for the specific treatment of animal patients for 115
which there is a documented veterinarian/client/patient 116
relationship. Pursuant thereto, The veterinarian shall: 117
1. Have sufficient knowledge of the anima l or group of 118
animals to initiate at least a general or preliminary diagnosis 119
of the medical condition of the animal or group of animals, 120
which means that the veterinarian is personally acquainted with 121
the keeping and caring of the animal or group of animals and has 122
recently performed a physical examination of the animal or group 123
of animals either in person or by the use of veterinary 124
telemedicine in compliance with s. 474.2021 seen the animal or 125
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has made medically appropriate and timely visits to the premi ses 126
where the animal or group of animals are is kept. 127
2. Be available or provide for followup care and treatment 128
in case of adverse reactions or failure of the regimen of 129
therapy. 130
3. Maintain records which document patient visits, 131
diagnosis, treatment, and other relevant information required 132
under this chapter. 133
Section 5. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 828.30, 134
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 135
828.30 Rabies vaccination of dogs, cats, and ferrets. — 136
(1)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), all dogs, 137
cats, and ferrets 4 months of age or older must be vaccinated by 138
a licensed veterinarian against rabies with a vaccine that is 139
licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture for use 140
in those species. 141
(b) An employee, agent, or con tractor of an animal control 142
authority acting under the indirect supervision of a 143
veterinarian may vaccinate impounded animals that will be 144
transferred, rescued, fostered, adopted, or reclaimed by the 145
owner. As used in this paragraph, the term "indirect 146
supervision" means the supervising veterinarian must be 147
available for consultation through telecommunications but is not 148
required to be on the premises during such consultation. The 149
supervising veterinarian assumes responsibility for the 150
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veterinary care prov ided to the animal by any person working 151
under or at his or her direction and supervision. 152
(c) The owner of every dog, cat, and ferret shall have the 153
animal revaccinated 12 months after the initial vaccination. 154
Thereafter, the interval between vaccinatio ns shall conform to 155
the vaccine manufacturer's directions. The cost of vaccination 156
must be borne by the animal's owner. Evidence of circulating 157
rabies virus neutralizing antibodies may shall not be used as a 158
substitute for current vaccination in managing r abies exposure 159
or determining the need for booster vaccinations. 160
(3) Upon vaccination against rabies, the licensed 161
veterinarian shall provide the animal's owner and the animal 162
control authority with a rabies vaccination certificate. Each 163
animal control authority and veterinarian shall use the "Rabies 164
Vaccination Certificate" of the National Association of State 165
Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) or an equivalent form 166
approved by the local government that contains all the 167
information required by the NASP HV Rabies Vaccination 168
Certificate. The veterinarian who administers the rabies 169
vaccination, or who indirectly supervises an employee, agent, or 170
contractor of an animal control authority who administers the 171
rabies vaccination, vaccine to an animal as requir ed under this 172
section may affix his or her signature stamp in lieu of an 173
actual signature on the rabies vaccination certificate . 174
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 175