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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 health care practitioner titles and 2
abbreviations; creating s. 456.0651, F.S.; defining 3
terms; providing that, for specified purposes, the use 4
of specified titles or designations in connection with 5
one's name constitutes the practice of medicine or the 6
practice of osteopathic medicine; providing 7
exceptions; amending s. 456.072, F.S.; revising 8
grounds for disciplinary action relating to a 9
practitioner's use of such titles or designations in 10
identifying himself or herself to patients or in 11
advertisements for health care services; revising 12
applicability; requiring certain health care 13
practitioners to prominently display copies of their 14
licenses in a conspicuous area of their practices; 15
requiring that the copy of the license be a specified 16
size; requiring such health care practitioners to also 17
verbally identify themselves in a specified manner to 18
new patients; requiring, rather than authorizing, 19
certain boards or the Department of Health if there is 20
no board, to adopt certain rules ; providing an 21
effective date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
25
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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
Section 1. Section 456.0651, Florida Statutes, is created 26
to read: 27
456.0651 Health care practitioner titles and 28
designations.— 29
(1) As used in this section, the term: 30
(a) "Advertisement" means any printed, electronic, or oral 31
statement that: 32
1. Is communicated or disseminated to the general public. 33
2.a. Is intended to en courage a person to use a 34
practitioner's professional services or to promote those 35
services or the practitioner in general; or 36
b. For commercial purposes, names a practitioner in 37
connection with the practice, profession, or institution in 38
which the practitioner is employed, volunteers, or provides 39
health care services. 40
3. Is prepared, communicated, or disseminated under the 41
control of the practitioner or with the practitioner's consent. 42
(b) "Educational degree" means the degree awarded to a 43
practitioner by a college or university relating to the 44
practitioner's profession or specialty designation which may be 45
referenced in an advertisement by name or acronym. 46
(c) "Misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent representation" 47
means any information that misrepre sents or falsely describes a 48
practitioner's profession, skills, training, expertise, 49
educational degree, board certification, or licensure. 50
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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
(d) "Practitioner" means a health care practitioner as 51
defined in s. 456.001. 52
(e) "Profession" in addition to th e meaning provided in s. 53
456.001, also means the name or title of a practitioner's 54
profession that is regulated by the department in the Division 55
of Medical Quality Assurance and which is allowed to be used by 56
an individual due to his or her license, licen se by endorsement, 57
certification, or registration issued by a board or the 58
department. The term does not include a practitioner's license 59
or educational degree. 60
(2) For purposes of this section and s. 456.065, in 61
addition to the definition of "practice of medicine" in s. 62
458.305 and the definition of "practice of osteopathic medicine" 63
in s. 459.003, the practice of medicine or osteopathic medicine 64
also includes attaching to one's name, either alone or in 65
combination, or in connection with other words, an y of the 66
following titles or designations, if used in an advertisement or 67
in a manner that constitutes a misleading, deceptive, or 68
fraudulent representation: 69
(a) Doctor of medicine. 70
(b) M.D. 71
(c) Doctor of osteopathy. 72
(d) D.O. 73
(e) Physician. 74
(f) Emergency physician. 75
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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
(g) Family physician. 76
(h) Interventional pain physician. 77
(i) Medical doctor. 78
(j) Osteopath. 79
(k) Osteopathic physician. 80
(l) Doctor of osteopathic medicine. 81
(m) Surgeon. 82
(n) Neurosurgeon. 83
(o) General surgeon. 84
(p) Resident physician. 85
(q) Medical resident. 86
(r) Medical intern. 87
(s) Anesthesiologist. 88
(t) Cardiologist. 89
(u) Dermatologist. 90
(v) Endocrinologist. 91
(w) Gastroenterologist. 92
(x) Gynecologist. 93
(y) Hematologist. 94
(z) Hospitalist. 95
(aa) Intensivist. 96
(bb) Internist. 97
(cc) Laryngologist. 98
(dd) Nephrologist. 99
(ee) Neurologist. 100
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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
(ff) Obstetrician. 101
(gg) Oncologist. 102
(hh) Ophthalmologist. 103
(ii) Orthopedic surgeon. 104
(jj) Orthopedist. 105
(kk) Otologist. 106
(ll) Otolaryngologist. 107
(mm) Otorhinolaryngologist. 108
(nn) Pathologist. 109
(oo) Pediatrician. 110
(pp) Primary care physician. 111
(qq) Proctologist. 112
(rr) Psychiatrist. 113
(ss) Radiologist. 114
(tt) Rheumatologist. 115
(uu) Rhinologist. 116
(vv) Urologist. 117
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2): 118
(a) A licensed practitioner may use the name or title of 119
his or her profession which is authorized under his or her 120
practice act, and any corresponding designations or initials so 121
authorized, to describe himself or herself and his or her 122
practice. 123
(b) A licensed practitioner who has a specialty area of 124
practice authorized under his or her practice act may use the 125
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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
following format to identify himself or herself or describe his 126
or her practice: "...(name or title of the practitioner's 127
profession)..., spec ializing in ...(name of the practitioner's 128
specialty)...." 129
(c) A chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460 130
may use the titles "chiropractic physician," "doctor of 131
chiropractic medicine," "chiropractic radiologist," and other 132
titles, abbreviations , or designations authorized under his or 133
her practice act or reflecting those chiropractic specialty 134
areas in which the chiropractic physician has attained diplomate 135
status as recognized by the American Chiropractic Association, 136
the International Chiropra ctors Association, the International 137
Academy of Clinical Neurology, or the International Chiropractic 138
Pediatric Association. 139
(d) A podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461 may 140
use the following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his 141
or her license, specialty, and certification: "podiatric 142
physician," "podiatric surgeon," "Fellow in the American College 143
of Foot and Ankle Surgeons," and other titles or abbreviations 144
authorized under his or her practice act. 145
(e) A dentist licensed under chapte r 466 may use the 146
following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his or her 147
license, specialty, and certification: "doctor of medicine in 148
dentistry," "doctor of dental medicine," "D.M.D.," "doctor of 149
dental surgery," "D.D.S.," "oral surgeon," "maxillo facial 150
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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
surgeon," "oral and maxillofacial surgeon," "O.M.S.," "oral 151
radiologist," "dental anesthesiologist," "oral pathologist," and 152
other titles or abbreviations authorized under his or her 153
practice act. 154
(f) An anesthesiologist assistant licensed under c hapter 155
458 or chapter 459 may use only the titles "anesthesiologist 156
assistant" or "certified anesthesiologist assistant" and the 157
abbreviation "C.A.A." 158
(g) An optometrist licensed under chapter 463 may use the 159
following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his or her 160
license, specialty, and certification: "doctor of optometry," 161
"optometric physician," and other titles or abbreviations 162
authorized under his or her practice act. 163
Section 2. Paragraph (t) of subsection (1) of section 164
456.072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 165
456.072 Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement. — 166
(1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which 167
the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be 168
taken: 169
(t)1. A practitioner's failure, when treating or 170
consulting with a patient, Failing to identify through written 171
notice, which may include the wearing of a name tag the 172
practitioner's name and , or orally to a patient the profession, 173
as defined in s. 456.0651, type of license under which the 174
practitioner is practicing. The information on the name tag must 175
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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
be consistent with the specifications of s. 456.0651(2) such 176
that it does not constitute the unlicensed practice of medicine 177
or osteopathic medicine. 178
2. The failure of any advertisement for health care 179
services naming the practitioner to must identify the 180
profession, as defined in s. 456.0651, under which the 181
practitioner is practicing and the practitioner's educational 182
degree, as defined in s. 456.0651, in relation to the services 183
featured in the advertisement type of license the practitioner 184
holds. 185
3. Subparagraph 1. This paragraph does not apply to a 186
practitioner while the practitioner is providing services in his 187
or her own office that houses his or her practice or group 188
practice. In such a case, in lieu of a name tag, the 189
practitioner must prominently display a copy of his or her 190
license in a conspicuous area of the practice so that it is 191
easily visible to patients. The copy of the license must be no 192
smaller than the original license . The practitioner must also 193
verbally identify himself or herself to a new patient by name 194
and identify the profession, as defined in s. 456.0651, under 195
which the practitioner is practicing. Such verbal identification 196
must be consistent with the specificat ions of s. 456.0651(2) 197
such that it does not constitute the unlicensed practice of 198
medicine or osteopathic medicine a facility licensed under 199
chapter 394, chapter 395, chapter 400, or chapter 429 . 200
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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
4. Each board, or the department if where there is no 201
board, shall is authorized by rule to determine how its 202
practitioners must may comply with this paragraph disclosure 203
requirement. 204
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 205