Florida Senate - 2022 CS for SB 836 By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Brodeur 588-02340-22 2022836c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to medication technicians; amending s. 3 429.256, F.S.; defining the term medication 4 technician; requiring that assisted living facility 5 residents who are able to use their point-of-care 6 devices without assistance be encouraged and allowed 7 to do so; authorizing medication technicians to assist 8 assisted living facility residents with their use of 9 point-of-care devices under certain circumstances; 10 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 11 amending s. 429.52, F.S.; providing minimum 12 requirements and specifications for the training of 13 medication technicians; requiring the Agency for 14 Health Care Administration to adopt rules establishing 15 such requirements; providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1), subsection (2), 20 paragraphs (g) and (h) of subsection (4), and subsection (5) of 21 section 429.256, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 22 429.256Assistance with self-administration of medication. 23 (1)For the purposes of this section, the term: 24 (b)Medication technician Unlicensed person means an 25 individual not currently licensed to practice nursing or 26 medicine who is employed by or under contract with to an 27 assisted living facility and who has received training on with 28 respect to assisting with the self-administration of medication 29 and use of point-of-care devices in an assisted living facility 30 as provided under s. 429.52 before prior to providing such 31 assistance as described in this section. 32 (2)Residents who are capable of self-administering their 33 own medications or using their point-of-care devices without 34 assistance shall be encouraged and allowed to do so. However, a 35 medication technician an unlicensed person may, consistent with 36 a dispensed prescriptions label or the package directions of an 37 over-the-counter medication or point-of-care device, assist a 38 resident whose condition is medically stable with the self 39 administration of routine, regularly scheduled medications that 40 are intended to be self-administered and may assist with a 41 residents use of point-of-care devices. Assistance with self 42 medication by a medication technician an unlicensed person may 43 occur only upon a documented request by, and the written 44 informed consent of, a resident or the residents surrogate, 45 guardian, or attorney in fact. For the purposes of this section, 46 self-administered medications include both legend and over-the 47 counter oral dosage forms, topical dosage forms, transdermal 48 patches, and topical ophthalmic, otic, and nasal dosage forms 49 including solutions, suspensions, sprays, and inhalers. 50 (4)Assistance with self-administration does not include: 51 (g)Assisting with medications ordered by the physician or 52 health care professional with prescriptive authority to be given 53 as needed, unless the order is written with specific 54 parameters that preclude independent judgment on the part of the 55 medication technician unlicensed person, and the resident 56 requesting the medication is aware of his or her need for the 57 medication and understands the purpose for taking the 58 medication. 59 (h)Medications for which the time of administration, the 60 amount, the strength of dosage, the method of administration, or 61 the reason for administration requires judgment or discretion on 62 the part of the medication technician unlicensed person. 63 (5)Assistance with the self-administration of medication 64 by a medication technician an unlicensed person as described in 65 this section is shall not be considered administration as 66 defined in s. 465.003. 67 Section 2.Subsection (6) of section 429.52, Florida 68 Statutes, is amended to read: 69 429.52Staff training and educational requirements. 70 (6)Medication technicians Staff assisting with the self 71 administration of medications and point-of-care devices under s. 72 429.256 must complete a minimum of 6 additional hours of 73 training provided by a registered nurse or a licensed pharmacist 74 before providing assistance. Two hours of continuing education 75 are required annually thereafter. The agency shall establish by 76 rule the minimum requirements for medication technician of this 77 training, which must address infection control, safe handling 78 and use of point-of-care devices, communicating with case 79 managers and health care providers, standard of care protocols 80 for the provision of care in a licensed assisted living 81 facility, identification of nursing standards, and methods of 82 assisting residents with the self-administration of medications. 83 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.