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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
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An act relating to veterinary practices; amending s. 2
474.202, F.S.; defining the term "veterinary 3
telehealth"; creating s. 474.2021, F.S.; providing a 4
short title; authorizing licensed veterinarians to 5
practice veterinary telehealth in accordance with 6
specified criteria; specifying the powers of the Board 7
of Veterinary Medicine related to the practice of 8
telehealth; providing that the practice of veterin ary 9
medicine is deemed to occur under specified 10
circumstances; specifying the conditions under which a 11
veterinarian may practice veterinary telehealth; 12
specifying the drugs that a veterinarian practicing 13
telehealth may not provide unless specified conditio ns 14
are met; providing specific authorizations for cases 15
in which the patient is a food -producing species; 16
amending s. 474.2165, F.S.; conforming a provision to 17
changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 18
19
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of t he State of Florida: 20
21
Section 1. Subsection (14) is added to section 474.202, 22
Florida Statutes, to read: 23
474.202 Definitions. —As used in this chapter: 24
(14) "Veterinary telehealth" means the use of synchronous 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
or asynchronous telecommunications tech nology by a telehealth 26
provider to provide health care services, including, but not 27
limited to, assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, and 28
monitoring of a patient; transfer of medical data; patient and 29
professional health-related education; public health services; 30
and health administration. 31
Section 2. Section 474.2021, Florida Statutes, is created 32
to read: 33
474.2021 Veterinary telehealth. — 34
(1) This section may be cited as the "Providing Equity in 35
Telehealth Services Act." 36
(2) A veterinarian who holds a current license to practice 37
veterinary medicine in this state may practice veterinary 38
telehealth. 39
(3) The board has jurisdiction over a veterinarian 40
practicing veterinary telehealth, regardless of where the 41
veterinarian's physical office is located. The practice of 42
veterinary medicine is deemed to occur when the veterinarian, 43
the patient, or both are located within this state at the time 44
the veterinarian practices veterinary telehealth. 45
(4) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth: 46
(a) May not engage in the practice of veterinary 47
telehealth unless it is within the context of a 48
veterinarian/client/patient relationship; 49
(b) Shall practice in a manner consistent with his or her 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
scope of practice and the prevailing professional stand ard of 51
practice for a veterinarian who provides in -person veterinary 52
services to patients in this state and shall employ sound, 53
professional judgment to determine whether using veterinary 54
telehealth is an appropriate method for delivering medical 55
advice or treatment to the patient; 56
(c) May use veterinary telehealth to perform an initial 57
patient evaluation to establish the veterinarian/client/patient 58
relationship if the evaluation is conducted using synchronous, 59
audiovisual communication. The evaluation ma y not be performed 60
using audio only communications, text messaging, questionnaires, 61
chatbots, or other similar means. If a veterinarian practicing 62
telehealth conducts a patient evaluation sufficient to diagnose 63
and treat the patient, the veterinarian is no t required to 64
research a patient's medical history or conduct a physical 65
examination of the patient before using veterinary telehealth to 66
provide a veterinary health care service to the patient; 67
(d) If the initial patient evaluation is performed using 68
veterinary telehealth, must provide the client with a statement 69
containing the veterinarian's name, license number, and contact 70
information and the contact information for at least one 71
physical veterinary clinic in the vicinity of the patient's 72
location and instructions for how to receive patient follow -up 73
care or assistance if the veterinarian and client are unable to 74
communicate because of a technological or equipment failure or 75
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if there is an adverse reaction to treatment, and inform the 76
client that, if medication is prescribed, the client may obtain 77
a prescription that may be filled at the pharmacy of his or her 78
choice. The veterinarian shall obtain from the client a signed 79
and dated statement indicating the client has received the 80
required information b efore practicing veterinary telehealth; 81
(e) Shall prescribe all drugs and medications in 82
accordance with all federal and state laws and the following 83
requirements: 84
1. A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth may 85
order, prescribe, or make availab le medicinal drugs or drugs 86
specifically approved for use in animals by the United States 87
Food and Drug Administration, the use of which conforms to the 88
approved labeling. Prescriptions based solely on a telehealth 89
evaluation may be issued for up to 1 mont h for products labeled 90
solely for flea and tick control and up to 14 days of treatment 91
for other animal drugs. Prescriptions based solely on a 92
telehealth evaluation may not be renewed without an in -person 93
examination. 94
2. A veterinarian practicing veterin ary telehealth may not 95
order, prescribe, or make available medicinal drugs or drugs as 96
defined in s. 465.003 approved by the United States Food and 97
Drug Administration for human use or compounded antibacterial, 98
antifungal, antiviral, or antiparasitic medic ations, unless the 99
veterinarian has conducted an in -person physical examination of 100
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the animal or made medically appropriate and timely visits to 101
the premises where the animal is kept. 102
3. A veterinarian may not use veterinary telehealth to 103
prescribe a controlled substance as defined in chapter 893 104
unless the veterinarian has conducted an in -person physical 105
examination of the animal or made medically appropriate and 106
timely visits within the past year to the premises where the 107
animal is kept. 108
4. A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth may not 109
prescribe a drug or other medication for use on a horse engaged 110
in racing or training at a facility under the jurisdiction of 111
the Florida Gaming Control Commission or on a horse that is a 112
covered horse as defin ed in the federal Horseracing Integrity 113
and Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. ss. 3051 et seq.; 114
(f) Shall be familiar with available veterinary resources, 115
including emergency resources, near the patient's location and 116
be able to provide the client with a list of nea rby 117
veterinarians who may be able to see the patient in person upon 118
the request of the client; 119
(g) Shall keep, maintain, and make available a summary of 120
the patient record as provided in s. 474.2165; and 121
(h) May not use veterinary telehealth to issue a n 122
international or interstate travel certificate or a certificate 123
of veterinary inspection. 124
(5) A veterinarian personally acquainted with the caring 125
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and keeping of an animal or group of animals on food -producing 126
animal operations on land classified as ag ricultural pursuant to 127
s. 193.461 who has recently seen the animal or group of animals 128
or has made medically appropriate and timely visits to the 129
premises where the animal or group of animals is kept may 130
practice veterinary telehealth for animals on such o perations. 131
Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 474.2165, Florida 132
Statutes, is amended to read: 133
474.2165 Ownership and control of veterinary medical 134
patient records; report or copies of records to be furnished. — 135
(1) As used in this section, the ter m "records owner" 136
means any veterinarian who generates a medical record after 137
making an a physical examination of, or administering treatment 138
or dispensing legend drugs to, any patient; any veterinarian to 139
whom records are transferred by a previous records owner; or any 140
veterinarian's employer, provided the employment contract or 141
agreement between the employer and the veterinarian designates 142
the employer as the records owner. 143
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 144