Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0955 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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1010 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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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to prescriptive authority for 2
1616 psychologists; creating s. 490.0065, F.S.; defining 3
1717 terms; requiring the Board of Psychology to certify 4
1818 psychologists to exercise prescriptive authority if 5
1919 they meet specified criteria; requiring the board to 6
2020 develop procedures and adopt rules relating to 7
2121 prescriptive authority certification; authorizing the 8
2222 board to require that a prescribing psychologist 9
2323 correct certain deficiencies under certain 10
2424 circumstances; specifying certification application 11
2525 requirements; requiring the board to adopt rules 12
2626 providing for certification renewal; specifying 13
2727 continuing education requirements for certificate 14
2828 renewal; specifying requirements for the prescribing 15
2929 of drugs and controlled substances by a prescribing 16
3030 psychologist; prohibiting specified prescribing 17
3131 actions; requiring a prescribing psychologist who is 18
3232 authorized to prescribe controlled substances to file 19
3333 his or her federal Drug Enforcement Administration 20
3434 registration number with the board within a specified 21
3535 timeframe; requiring the board to maintain a current 22
3636 record of every prescribing psychologist authorized to 23
3737 prescribe controlled substances; requiring a 24
3838 prescribing psychologist to maintain professional 25
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4747 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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5151 liability insurance; exempting specified licensees 26
5252 from certain certification requirements; requiring the 27
5353 Board of Psychology to establish an interim panel for 28
5454 a specified purpose by a specified date; providing 29
5555 panel membership; requiring the panel to submit 30
5656 recommendations for rules to the board by a specified 31
5757 date; requiring the panel to develop a formulary for 32
5858 prescribing psychologists; providing requirements for 33
5959 the formulary; providing for the dissolution of the 34
6060 panel; amending s. 627.6131, F.S.; revising provisions 35
6161 related to health care insurance claims to provide for 36
6262 prescribing psychologists; providing applicability; 37
6363 providing an effective date. 38
6464 39
6565 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40
6666 41
6767 Section 1. Section 490.0065, Florida Statutes, is created 42
6868 to read: 43
6969 490.0065 Certification for pres criptive authority.— 44
7070 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 45
7171 (a) "Clinical experience" means a period of supervised 46
7272 training and practice during which an individual learns and 47
7373 conducts diagnoses and interventions under the supervision of a 48
7474 physician. 49
7575 (b) "Controlled substance" has the same meaning as in s. 50
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8484 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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8888 893.02. 51
8989 (c) "Drug" has the same meaning as in s. 499.003. 52
9090 (d) "Prescribing psychologist" means a psychologist who 53
9191 has received from the board a certificate for prescriptive 54
9292 authority which has not been revoked or suspended. 55
9393 (e) "Prescription" has the same meaning as in s. 465.003. 56
9494 (f) "Prescriptive authority" means having the authority to 57
9595 prescribe, administer, discontinue, or distribute drugs or 58
9696 controlled substances recognized o r customarily used in the 59
9797 diagnosis, treatment, or management of an individual who has a 60
9898 psychiatric, mental, cognitive, nervous, emotional, 61
9999 developmental, or behavioral disorder within the scope of the 62
100100 practice of psychology. 63
101101 (2) DUTIES OF THE BOARD. —The board shall do all of the 64
102102 following: 65
103103 (a) Certify psychologists who meet the requirements listed 66
104104 in subsection (3) to exercise prescriptive authority. 67
105105 (b) Develop and implement procedures to review education 68
106106 and training requirements for certification . 69
107107 (c) Adopt rules to deny, modify, suspend, or revoke a 70
108108 psychologist's prescriptive authority certification. The board 71
109109 may require remediation by a prescribing psychologist to correct 72
110110 deficiencies in his or her training or practice upon the board's 73
111111 determination that such deficiencies could reasonably be 74
112112 expected to jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the 75
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121121 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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125125 public. 76
126126 (3) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. — 77
127127 (a) A psychologist who applies for prescriptive authority 78
128128 certification must demonstrate all of the f ollowing by an 79
129129 official transcript or other official evidence deemed 80
130130 satisfactory by the board: 81
131131 1. A current license as a psychologist. 82
132132 2. Graduation from a doctoral program in psychology. 83
133133 3. A passing score on an examination developed by a 84
134134 nationally recognized body, such as the Psychopharmacology 85
135135 Examination for Psychologists offered by the Association of 86
136136 State and Provincial Psychology Boards, and approved by the 87
137137 board to establish competency in prescriptive authority. 88
138138 4.a. Consistent with the Am erican Psychological 89
139139 Association's established policies for education of 90
140140 psychologists in preparation for prescriptive authority, 91
141141 successful completion of an organized sequence of study in a 92
142142 program offering intensive didactic education which includes 93
143143 core areas of instruction in basic sciences, neurosciences, 94
144144 physical examination, interpretation of laboratory tests, 95
145145 pathological bases of disease, clinical medicine, clinical 96
146146 neurotherapeutics, systems of care, pharmacology, clinical 97
147147 pharmacology, psychophar macology, psychopharmacology research, 98
148148 and professional, ethical, and legal issues. The program must 99
149149 consist of an appropriate number of hours of didactic 100
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158158 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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162162 instruction, as determined by the board, to ensure that the 101
163163 applicant has the knowledge and skills re quired to prescribe 102
164164 drugs in a safe and effective manner. 103
165165 b. Consistent with the American Psychological 104
166166 Association's established policies for the training of 105
167167 psychologists in preparation for prescriptive authority, 106
168168 relevant clinical experience sufficien t for the applicant to 107
169169 attain competency in the psychopharmacological treatment of a 108
170170 diverse patient population or at least 2 years practicing under 109
171171 the supervision of a licensed physician whose practice involves 110
172172 the pharmacological treatment of mental, ne rvous, emotional, 111
173173 behavioral, substance abuse, or cognitive diseases. 112
174174 113
175175 The educational and training requirements under this 114
176176 subparagraph may be met as part of a doctoral program, 115
177177 postdoctoral training, or a fellowship in psychology. 116
178178 (b) A psychologist is exempt from the educational 117
179179 requirements established under paragraph (a) if he or she has 118
180180 completed the United States Department of Defense 119
181181 Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project. 120
182182 (4) CERTIFICATION RENEWAL. — 121
183183 (a) The board shall establish by rule a m ethod for the 122
184184 renewal of prescriptive authority certification, to occur in 123
185185 conjunction with licensure renewal pursuant to s. 490.007. 124
186186 (b) Each applicant for renewal must present satisfactory 125
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195195 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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199199 evidence to the board demonstrating completion of 20 hours of 126
200200 continuing education relevant to prescriptive authority during 127
201201 the previous 2-year licensure period. 128
202202 (5) PRESCRIPTION PRACTICES. — 129
203203 (a) A prescribing psychologist may use his or her 130
204204 prescriptive authority certification in accordance with rules 131
205205 adopted by the board. 132
206206 (b) A prescribing psychologist shall: 133
207207 1. Maintain a record of all of a patient's prescriptions. 134
208208 2. Consult and collaborate with a patient's primary care 135
209209 physician and concur with that physician before prescribing a 136
210210 drug, altering a drug tr eatment plan, or discontinuing a drug. 137
211211 (c) A prescribing psychologist may not: 138
212212 1. Issue a prescription unless the psychologist holds a 139
213213 valid and current prescriptive authority certification that has 140
214214 not been revoked or suspended. 141
215215 2. Delegate the auth ority to prescribe drugs to another 142
216216 person. 143
217217 3. Issue a prescription to a patient who does not have a 144
218218 primary care physician. 145
219219 (d) A prescription issued by a prescribing psychologist 146
220220 must do all of the following: 147
221221 1. Be written in a manner as determined by the board. 148
222222 2. Comply with all applicable state and federal laws. 149
223223 (6) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PRESCRIPTION AUTHORITY. — 150
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232232 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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236236 (a) Upon the board authorizing a psychologist to prescribe 151
237237 controlled substances, the prescribing psychologist must file 152
238238 with the board, within 10 days after the authorization, his or 153
239239 her federal Drug Enforcement Administration registration number. 154
240240 (b) The board shall maintain a current record of every 155
241241 prescribing psychologist authorized to prescribe controlled 156
242242 substances. 157
243243 (7) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. —A prescribing psychologist 158
244244 must maintain at least $250,000 of professional liability 159
245245 insurance coverage. 160
246246 (8) EXEMPTION.—A person holding an active license as a 161
247247 physician or physician assistant under chapter 458 or chapter 162
248248 459 or an advanced practice registered nurse holding an active 163
249249 license under chapter 464 is exempt from the certification 164
250250 requirements of this section. 165
251251 (9) INTERIM PANEL.—By October 1, 2024, the board shall 166
252252 establish an interim panel to provide recommendations for 167
253253 proposed rules governing prescriptive authority for 168
254254 psychologists. The interim panel shall consist of a psychiatrist 169
255255 licensed under chapter 45 8 or chapter 459 and a pediatrician, 170
256256 both selected by the Board of Medicine; a pharmacist who holds a 171
257257 doctoral degree, selected by the Board of Pharmacy; and two 172
258258 psychologists who hold postdoctoral master's degrees in clinical 173
259259 psychopharmacology, selected by the Board of Psychology. The 174
260260 panel shall submit its recommendations for proposed rules to the 175
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269269 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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273273 board by February 1, 2025. 176
274274 (a) The interim panel shall establish a formulary that: 177
275275 1. Authorizes the prescribing of drugs recognized and 178
276276 customarily used for the management of mental, nervous, 179
277277 emotional, behavioral, substance abuse, and cognitive diseases. 180
278278 2. Establishes guidelines for the pharmacological 181
279279 treatment of patients younger than 18 years of age. 182
280280 3. Limits the prescribing of Schedule II control led 183
281281 substances to those drugs recognized and customarily used for 184
282282 the management of mental, nervous, emotional, behavioral, 185
283283 substance abuse, and cognitive diseases. 186
284284 4. Prohibits the prescribing of drugs primarily used to 187
285285 pharmacologically treat patients for other primary conditions, 188
286286 unless specifically defined and authorized in the formulary. 189
287287 (b) This subsection expires May 1, 2025. 190
288288 Section 2. Subsection (18) of section 627.6131, Florida 191
289289 Statutes, is amended to read: 192
290290 627.6131 Payment of claims. — 193
291291 (18) Notwithstanding the 30 -month period provided in 194
292292 subsection (6), all claims for overpayment submitted to a 195
293293 provider licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, 196
294294 chapter 461, or chapter 466, or chapter 490 must be submitted to 197
295295 the provider within 12 months after the health insurer's payment 198
296296 of the claim. A claim for overpayment may not be permitted 199
297297 beyond 12 months after the health insurer's payment of a claim, 200
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306306 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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310310 except that claims for overpayment may be sought beyond that 201
311311 time from providers con victed of fraud pursuant to s. 817.234. 202
312312 Section 3. The amendments made to s. 627.6131(18), Florida 203
313313 Statutes, by this act apply to claims for services provided on 204
314314 or after October 1, 2024. 205
315315 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 206