Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1112 By Senator Harrell 31-01341-24 20241112__ 1 A bill to be entitled 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 degree 45 may be 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's Division of 55 Medical Quality Assurance and which name or title is allowed to 56 be used by an individual due to his or her license, license by 57 endorsement, certification, or registration issued by a board or 58 the department. The term does not include a practitioners 59 license or educational degree. 60 (2)For purposes of this section and s. 456.065, in 61 addition to the definitions of the terms practice of medicine 62 in s. 458.305 and practice of osteopathic medicine in s. 63 459.003, the practice of medicine or osteopathic medicine also 64 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)Emergency physician. 74 (f)Family physician. 75 (g)Interventional pain physician. 76 (h)Medical doctor. 77 (i)Osteopath. 78 (j)Osteopathic physician. 79 (k)Doctor of osteopathic medicine. 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 (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 or her practice: ...(name or title of the practitioners 126 profession)..., specializing in ...(name of the practitioners 127 specialty).... 128 (c)A chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460 may 129 use the titles doctor of chiropractic medicine, chiropractic 130 radiologist, and other titles, abbreviations, or designations 131 authorized under his or her practice act or reflecting those 132 chiropractic specialty areas in which the chiropractic physician 133 has attained diplomate status as recognized by the American 134 Chiropractic Association, the International Chiropractors 135 Association, the International Academy of Clinical Neurology, or 136 the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. 137 (d)A podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461 may 138 use the following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his 139 or her license, specialty, and certification: podiatric 140 surgeon, Fellow in the American College of Foot and Ankle 141 Surgeons, and other titles or abbreviations authorized under 142 his or her practice act. 143 (e)A dentist licensed under chapter 466 may use the 144 following titles and abbreviations as applicable to his or her 145 license, specialty, and certification: doctor of medicine in 146 dentistry, doctor of dental medicine, D.M.D., doctor of 147 dental surgery, D.D.S., oral surgeon, maxillofacial 148 surgeon, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, O.M.S., oral 149 radiologist, dental anesthesiologist, oral pathologist, and 150 any other titles or abbreviations authorized under his or her 151 practice act. 152 (f)An anesthesiologist assistant licensed under chapter 153 458 or chapter 459 may use only the titles anesthesiologist 154 assistant or certified anesthesiologist assistant and the 155 abbreviation C.A.A. 156 Section 2.Paragraph (t) of subsection (1) of section 157 456.072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 158 456.072Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement. 159 (1)The following acts shall constitute grounds for which 160 the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be 161 taken: 162 (t)1.A practitioners failure, when treating or consulting 163 with a patient, Failing to identify through written notice, 164 which may include the wearing of a name tag the practitioners 165 name and, or orally to a patient the profession, as defined in 166 s. 456.0651, type of license under which the practitioner is 167 practicing. The information on the name tag must be consistent 168 with the specifications of s. 456.0651(2) such that it does not 169 constitute the unlicensed practice of medicine or osteopathic 170 medicine. 171 2.The failure of any advertisement for health care 172 services naming the practitioner to must identify the 173 profession, as defined in s. 456.0651, under which the 174 practitioner is practicing and the practitioners educational 175 degree, as defined in s. 456.0651, in relation to the services 176 featured in the advertisement type of license the practitioner 177 holds. 178 3.Subparagraph 1. This paragraph does not apply to a 179 practitioner while the practitioner is providing services in his 180 or her own office that houses his or her practice or group 181 practice. In such a case, if the practitioner chooses not to 182 wear a name tag, the practitioner must prominently display a 183 copy of his or her license in a conspicuous area of the practice 184 so that it is easily visible to patients. The copy of the 185 license must be no smaller than the original license. Such 186 practitioner shall also verbally identify himself or herself to 187 a new patient by name and identify the profession, as defined in 188 s. 456.0651, under which the practitioner is practicing. Such 189 verbal identification must be consistent with the specifications 190 of s. 456.0651(2) such that it does not constitute the 191 unlicensed practice of medicine or osteopathic medicine a 192 facility licensed under chapter 394, chapter 395, chapter 400, 193 or chapter 429. 194 4.Each board, or the department if where there is no 195 board, shall is authorized by rule to determine how its 196 practitioners must may comply with this paragraph disclosure 197 requirement. 198 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.