ENROLLED 2023 Legislature CS for CS for SB 230 2023230er 1 2 An act relating to health care practitioner titles and 3 designations; creating s. 456.0651, F.S.; defining 4 terms; providing that, for specified purposes, the use 5 of specified titles or designations in connection with 6 ones name constitutes the practice of medicine or the 7 practice of osteopathic medicine; providing 8 exceptions; amending s. 456.072, F.S.; revising 9 grounds for disciplinary action relating to a 10 practitioners use of such titles or designations in 11 identifying himself or herself to patients or in 12 advertisements for health care services; revising 13 applicability; requiring certain health care 14 practitioners to prominently display a copy of their 15 license in a conspicuous area of their practice; 16 requiring that the copy of the license be a specified 17 size; requiring such health care practitioners to also 18 verbally identify themselves in a specified manner to 19 new patients; requiring, rather than authorizing, 20 certain boards, or the Department of Health if there 21 is no board, to adopt certain rules; providing an 22 effective date. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26 Section 1.Section 456.0651, Florida Statutes, is created 27 to read: 28 456.0651Health care practitioner titles and 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 encourage a person to use a 34 practitioners 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; and 40 3.Is prepared, communicated, or disseminated under the 41 control of the practitioner or with the practitioners consent. 42 (b)Educational degree means the degree awarded to a 43 practitioner by a college or university relating to the 44 practitioners 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 misrepresents or falsely describes a 48 practitioners profession, skills, training, expertise, 49 educational degree, board certification, or licensure. 50 (d)Practitioner means a health care practitioner as 51 defined in s. 456.001. 52 (e)Profession, in addition to the meaning provided in s. 53 456.001, also means the name or title of a practitioners 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, license by endorsement, 57 certification, or registration issued by a board or the 58 department. The term does not include a practitioners 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 ones name, either alone or in 65 combination, or in connection with other words, any 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 (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 (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 following format to identify himself or herself or describe his 126 or her practice: ...(name or title of the practitioners 127 profession)..., specializing in ...(name of the practitioners 128 specialty).... 129 (c)A chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460 may 130 use the titles chiropractic physician, doctor of chiropractic 131 medicine, chiropractic radiologist, and other titles, 132 abbreviations, or designations authorized under his or her 133 practice act or reflecting those chiropractic specialty areas in 134 which the chiropractic physician has attained diplomate status 135 as recognized by the American Chiropractic Association, the 136 International Chiropractors 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 chapter 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, maxillofacial 150 surgeon, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, O.M.S., oral 151 radiologist, dental anesthesiologist, oral pathologist, and 152 any other titles or abbreviations authorized under his or her 153 practice act. 154 (f)An anesthesiologist assistant licensed under chapter 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 Section 2.Paragraph (t) of subsection (1) of section 159 456.072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 160 456.072Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement. 161 (1)The following acts shall constitute grounds for which 162 the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be 163 taken: 164 (t)1.A practitioners failure, when treating or consulting 165 with a patient, Failing to identify through written notice, 166 which may include the wearing of a name tag the practitioners 167 name and, or orally to a patient the profession, as defined in 168 s. 456.0651, type of license under which the practitioner is 169 practicing. The information on the name tag must be consistent 170 with the specifications of s. 456.0651(2) such that it does not 171 constitute the unlicensed practice of medicine or osteopathic 172 medicine. 173 2.The failure of any advertisement for health care 174 services naming the practitioner to must identify the 175 profession, as defined in s. 456.0651, under which the 176 practitioner is practicing and the practitioners educational 177 degree, as defined in s. 456.0651, in relation to the services 178 featured in the advertisement type of license the practitioner 179 holds. 180 3.Subparagraph 1. This paragraph does not apply to a 181 practitioner while the practitioner is providing services in his 182 or her own office that houses his or her practice or group 183 practice. In such a case, in lieu of a name tag, the 184 practitioner must prominently display a copy of his or her 185 license in a conspicuous area of the practice so that it is 186 easily visible to patients. The copy of the license must be no 187 smaller than the original license. The practitioner must also 188 verbally identify himself or herself to a new patient by name 189 and identify the profession, as defined in s. 456.0651, under 190 which the practitioner is practicing. Such verbal identification 191 must be consistent with the specifications of s. 456.0651(2) 192 such that it does not constitute the unlicensed practice of 193 medicine or osteopathic medicine a facility licensed under 194 chapter 394, chapter 395, chapter 400, or chapter 429. 195 4.Each board, or the department if where there is no 196 board, shall is authorized by rule to determine how its 197 practitioners must may comply with this paragraph disclosure 198 requirement. 199 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.