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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 electronic prescribing; amending s. 2
456.42, F.S.; revising health care practitioners who 3
may only electronically transmit prescriptions for 4
certain drugs; revising exceptions; providing 5
construction; amending ss. 458.347 and 459.022, F.S.; 6
conforming cross-references; providing an effective 7
date. 8
9
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10
11
Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 456.42, 12
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) and (3), 13
respectively, and present subsection (3) of that section is 14
renumbered as subsection (1) and amended, to read: 15
456.42 Written Prescriptions for medicinal drugs. — 16
(1)(3) A health care practitioner licensed by law to 17
prescribe a medicinal drug who maintains a system of electronic 18
health records as defined in s. 408.051(2)(c), or who prescribes 19
medicinal drugs as an owner, an employee, or a contractor of a 20
licensed health care facility or practice that maintains such a 21
system of electronic health records as defined in s. 22
408.051(2)(c) and who is prescribing in his or her capacity as 23
such an owner, an employee, or a contractor , may only 24
electronically transmit prescriptions for such drugs. This 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
requirement applies to such a health care practitioner upon 26
renewal of the health care practitioner's license or by July 1, 27
2026 2021, whichever is earlier, but does not apply if: 28
(a) The practitioner prescribes fewer than 100 such 29
prescriptions annually; 30
(b) The practitioner is located in an area for which a 31
state of emergency is declared pursuant to s. 252.36; 32
(a) The practitioner and the dispenser are the same 33
entity; 34
(b) The prescription cannot be transmitted electronically 35
under the most recently implemented version of the National 36
Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT Standard; 37
(c) The practitioner has been issued a waiver by the 38
department, not to exceed 1 year in duration, from the 39
requirement to use electronic prescribing due to demonstrated 40
economic hardship, technological limitations that are not 41
reasonably within the control of the practitioner, or another 42
exceptional circumstance demonstrated by the practitioner; or 43
(d) Electronic prescribing is not availa ble due to a 44
temporary technological or electrical failure that is not in the 45
control of the prescribing practitioner, and such failure is 46
documented in the patient record 47
(d) The practitioner reasonably determines that it would 48
be impractical for the pa tient in question to obtain a medicinal 49
drug prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner 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
and such delay would adversely impact the patient's medical 51
condition; 52
(e) The practitioner is prescribing a drug under a 53
research protocol; 54
(f) The prescription is for a drug for which the federal 55
Food and Drug Administration requires the prescription to 56
contain elements that may not be included in electronic 57
prescribing; 58
(g) The prescription is issued to an individual receiving 59
hospice care or who is a resident of a nursing home facility; or 60
(h) The practitioner determines that it is in the best 61
interest of the patient, or the patient determines that it is in 62
his or her own best interest, to compare prescription drug 63
prices among area pharmacies. The practitioner must document 64
such determination in the patient's medical record . 65
66
The department, in consultation with the Board of Medicine, the 67
Board of Osteopathic Medicine, the Board of Podiatric Medicine, 68
the Board of Dentistry, the Board of Nursing , and the Board of 69
Optometry, may adopt rules to implement this subsection. This 70
subsection does not prohibit a pharmacist licensed in this state 71
from filling or refilling a valid prescription submitted 72
electronically or in writing, or require or authorize a change 73
in prescription drug claims adjudication and review procedures 74
by payors related to filling or refilling a valid prescription 75
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submitted electronically or in writing. This subsection does not 76
prohibit a pharmacist licensed in this state from filli ng or 77
refilling a valid prescription issued in writing by a prescriber 78
located in another state. 79
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Section 2. Paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section 81
458.347, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 82
458.347 Physician assistants. — 83
(4) PERFORMANCE OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS. — 84
(e) A supervising physician may delegate to a fully 85
licensed physician assistant the authority to prescribe or 86
dispense any medication used in the supervising physician's 87
practice unless such medication is listed on the formulary 88
created pursuant to paragraph (f). A fully licensed physician 89
assistant may only prescribe or dispense such medication under 90
the following circumstances: 91
1. A physician assistant must clearly identify to the 92
patient that he or she is a physician assistan t. 93
2. The supervising physician must notify the department of 94
his or her intent to delegate, on a department -approved form, 95
before delegating such authority and of any change in 96
prescriptive privileges of the physician assistant. Authority to 97
dispense may be delegated only by a supervising physician who is 98
registered as a dispensing practitioner in compliance with s. 99
465.0276. 100
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3. A fully licensed physician assistant may procure 101
medical devices and drugs unless the medication is listed on the 102
formulary created pursuant to paragraph (f). 103
4. The physician assistant must complete a minimum of 10 104
continuing medical education hours in the specialty practice in 105
which the physician assistant has prescriptive privileges with 106
each licensure renewal. Three of the 10 hours must consist of a 107
continuing education course on the safe and effective 108
prescribing of controlled substance medications which is offered 109
by a statewide professional association of physicians in this 110
state accredited to provide educational activit ies designated 111
for the American Medical Association Physician's Recognition 112
Award Category 1 credit, designated by the American Academy of 113
Physician Assistants as a Category 1 credit, or designated by 114
the American Osteopathic Association as a Category 1 -A credit. 115
5. The prescription may be in paper or electronic form but 116
must comply with ss. 456.0392(1) and 456.42(2) 456.42(1) and 117
chapter 499 and must contain the physician assistant's name, 118
address, and telephone number and the name of each of his or her 119
supervising physicians. Unless it is a drug or drug sample 120
dispensed by the physician assistant, the prescription must be 121
filled in a pharmacy permitted under chapter 465 and must be 122
dispensed in that pharmacy by a pharmacist licensed under 123
chapter 465. 124
6. The physician assistant must note the prescription or 125
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dispensing of medication in the appropriate medical record. 126
Section 3. Paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section 127
459.022, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 128
459.022 Physician assistants. — 129
(4) PERFORMANCE OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS. — 130
(e) A supervising physician may delegate to a fully 131
licensed physician assistant the authority to prescribe or 132
dispense any medication used in the supervising physician's 133
practice unless such medication is liste d on the formulary 134
created pursuant to s. 458.347. A fully licensed physician 135
assistant may only prescribe or dispense such medication under 136
the following circumstances: 137
1. A physician assistant must clearly identify to the 138
patient that she or he is a ph ysician assistant. 139
2. The supervising physician must notify the department of 140
her or his intent to delegate, on a department -approved form, 141
before delegating such authority and of any change in 142
prescriptive privileges of the physician assistant. Authorit y to 143
dispense may be delegated only by a supervising physician who is 144
registered as a dispensing practitioner in compliance with s. 145
465.0276. 146
3. A fully licensed physician assistant may procure 147
medical devices and drugs unless the medication is listed on the 148
formulary created pursuant to s. 458.347(4)(f). 149
4. The physician assistant must complete a minimum of 10 150
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continuing medical education hours in the specialty practice in 151
which the physician assistant has prescriptive privileges with 152
each licensure renewal. Three of the 10 hours must consist of a 153
continuing education course on the safe and effective 154
prescribing of controlled substance medications which is offered 155
by a provider that has been approved by the American Academy of 156
Physician Assistants and w hich is designated for the American 157
Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award Category 1 158
credit, designated by the American Academy of Physician 159
Assistants as a Category 1 credit, or designated by the American 160
Osteopathic Association as a Category 1-A credit. 161
5. The prescription may be in paper or electronic form but 162
must comply with ss. 456.0392(1) and 456.42(2) 456.42(1) and 163
chapter 499 and must contain the physician assistant's name, 164
address, and telephone number and the name of each of his or her 165
supervising physicians. Unless it is a drug or drug sample 166
dispensed by the physician assistant, the prescription must be 167
filled in a pharmacy permitted under chapter 465, and must be 168
dispensed in that pharmacy by a pharmacist licensed under 169
chapter 465. 170
6. The physician assistant must note the prescription or 171
dispensing of medication in the appropriate medical record. 172
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 173