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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 45 6.0651, 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 dissem inated to the general public. 33
2.a. Is intended to encourage 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 p ractice, 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 fraudule nt representation" 47
means any information that misrepresents 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 the 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, license 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, 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) Emergency physician. 74
(f) Family 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) Interventional pain physician. 76
(h) Medical doctor. 77
(i) Osteopath. 78
(j) Osteopathic physician. 79
(k) Doctor of osteopathic m edicine. 80
(l) Surgeon. 81
(m) Neurosurgeon. 82
(n) General surgeon. 83
(o) Resident physician. 84
(p) Medical resident. 85
(q) Medical intern. 86
(r) Anesthesiologist. 87
(s) Cardiologist. 88
(t) Dermatologist. 89
(u) Endocrinologist. 90
(v) Gastroenterologist. 91
(w) Gynecologist. 92
(x) Hematologist. 93
(y) Hospitalist. 94
(z) Intensivist. 95
(aa) Internist. 96
(bb) Laryngologist. 97
(cc) Nephrologist. 98
(dd) Neurologist. 99
(ee) Obstetrician. 100
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(ff) Oncologist. 101
(gg) Ophthalmologist. 102
(hh) Orthopedic surgeon. 103
(ii) Orthopedist. 104
(jj) Otologist. 105
(kk) Otolaryngologist. 106
(ll) Otorhinolaryngologist. 107
(mm) Pathologist. 108
(nn) Pediatrician. 109
(oo) Primary care physician. 110
(pp) Proctologist. 111
(qq) Psychiatrist. 112
(rr) Radiologist. 113
(ss) Rheumatologist. 114
(tt) Rhinologist. 115
(uu) Urologist. 116
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2): 117
(a) A licensed practitioner may use the name or title of 118
his or her profession which is authorized under his or her 119
practice act, and any corresponding designations or initials so 120
authorized, to describe himself or herself and his or her 121
practice. 122
(b) A licensed practitioner who has a specialty area of 123
practice authorized under his or her practice act may use the 124
following format to identify himself or herself or describe his 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
or her practice: "...(name or title of the practitioner's 126
profession)..., specializing in ...(name of the practitioner's 127
specialty)...." 128
(c) A chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460 129
may use the titles "chiropractic physician," "doctor of 130
chiropractic medicine," "chiropractic radiologist," and other 131
titles, abbreviations, or designations authorized under his or 132
her practice act or reflecting those chiropractic specialty 133
areas in which the chiropractic physician has attained diplomate 134
status as recognized by the American Chiropractic Association, 135
the International Chiropractors Association, the International 136
Academy of Clinical Neurology, or the International Chiropractic 137
Pediatric Association. 138
(d) A podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461 may 139
use the following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his 140
or her license, specialty, and certification: "podiatric 141
physician," "podiatric surgeon," "Fellow in the American College 142
of Foot and Ankle Surgeons," and other titles or abbreviations 143
authorized under his or her practice act. 144
(e) A dentist licensed under chapter 466 may use the 145
following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his or her 146
license, specialty, and certification: "doctor of medicine in 147
dentistry," "doctor of dental medicine," "D. M.D.," "doctor of 148
dental surgery," "D.D.S.," "oral surgeon," "maxillofacial 149
surgeon," "oral and maxillofacial surgeon," "O.M.S.," "oral 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
radiologist," "dental anesthesiologist," "oral pathologist," and 151
other titles or abbreviations authorized under his or h er 152
practice act. 153
(f) An anesthesiologist assistant licensed under chapter 154
458 or chapter 459 may use only the titles "anesthesiologist 155
assistant" or "certified anesthesiologist assistant" and the 156
abbreviation "C.A.A." 157
(g) An optometrist licensed under chapter 463 may use the 158
following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his or her 159
license, specialty, and certification: "doctor of optometry," 160
"optometric physician," and other titles or abbreviations 161
authorized under his or her practice act. 162
Section 2. Paragraph (t) of subsection (1) of section 163
456.072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 164
456.072 Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement. — 165
(1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which 166
the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be 167
taken: 168
(t)1. A practitioner's failure, when treating or 169
consulting with a patient, Failing to identify through written 170
notice, which may include the wearing of a name tag the 171
practitioner's name and , or orally to a patient the profession, 172
as defined in s. 456.0651, type of license under which the 173
practitioner is practicing. The information on the name tag must 174
be consistent with the specifications of s. 456.0651(2) such 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
that it does not constitute the unlicensed practice of medici ne 176
or osteopathic medicine. 177
2. The failure of any advertisement for health care 178
services naming the practitioner to must identify the 179
profession, as defined in s. 456.0651, under which the 180
practitioner is practicing and the practitioner's educational 181
degree, as defined in s. 456.0651, in relation to the services 182
featured in the advertisement type of license the practitioner 183
holds. 184
3. Subparagraph 1. This paragraph does not apply to a 185
practitioner while the practitioner is providing services in his 186
or her own office that houses his or her practice or group 187
practice. In such a case, in lieu of a name tag, the 188
practitioner must prominently display a copy of his or her 189
license in a conspicuous area of the practice so that it is 190
easily visible to patients. Th e copy of the license must be no 191
smaller than the original license. The practitioner must also 192
verbally identify himself or herself to a new patient by name 193
and identify the profession, as defined in s. 456.0651, under 194
which the practitioner is practicing. Such verbal identification 195
must be consistent with the specifications of s. 456.0651(2) 196
such that it does not constitute the unlicensed practice of 197
medicine or osteopathic medicine a facility licensed under 198
chapter 394, chapter 395, chapter 400, or chapte r 429. 199
4. Each board, or the department if where there is no 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
board, shall is authorized by rule to determine how its 201
practitioners must may comply with this paragraph disclosure 202
requirement. 203
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 204