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(1) The department shall be notified when any osteopathic physician:
(a) Has been removed or suspended or has had any other disciplinary action taken by her or his peers within any professional medical association, society, body, or professional standards review organization established pursuant to Pub. L. No. 92-603, s. 249F, or similarly constituted professional organization, whether or not such association, society, body, or organization is local, regional, state, national, or international in scope; or
(b) Has been disciplined, which shall include allowing an osteopathic physician to resign, by a licensed hospital or medical staff of said hospital for any act that constitutes a violation of this chapter. If a physician resigns or withdraws from privileges when such facility notifies the physician that it is conducting an investigation or inquiry regarding an act which is potentially a violation of this chapter, the facility shall complete its investigation or inquiry and shall notify the department of the physician’s resignation or withdrawal from privileges if the completed investigation or inquiry results in a finding that such act constitutes a violation of this chapter for which the facility would have disciplined the physician or allowed her or him to resign or withdraw from privileges.
Within 20 days of receipt of such notification, upon board approval, the department shall notify all hospitals and health maintenance organizations in the state of any disciplinary action which is severe enough for expulsion or resignation reported pursuant to this subsection, identifying the disciplined physician, the action taken, and the reason for such action.(2) Any organization taking action as set forth in this section shall report such action to the department within 30 days of its initial occurrence, regardless of the pendency of appeals therefrom. The notification shall identify the disciplined physician, the action taken, and the reason for such action. The department shall investigate the occurrence upon which the report was based and determine if action by the department against the osteopathic physician is warranted. Any organization failing to report such action pursuant to this section shall be subject to a fine assessed by the department in an amount not exceeding $1,000 for the first offense and not exceeding $5,000 for any offense thereafter.(3) Any organization taking action as set forth in this section shall, upon department subpoena, provide copies of the records concerning the action to the department. However, those records shall be used solely for the purpose of the department and the board in disciplinary proceedings. The records shall otherwise be confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1). These records shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any administrative or civil action.(4) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages shall arise against, the department or any association, society, body, organization, hospital, hospital medical staff, or hospital disciplinary body or its agents, investigators, witnesses, or employees or any other person for any action taken without intentional fraud in carrying out the provisions of this section. However, this exemption applies only to actions taken in providing notice pursuant to this section.
459.017 Osteopathic physician’s consent; handwriting samples; mental or physical examinations.—Every osteopathic physician who accepts a license or certificate to practice osteopathic medicine in this state shall, by so accepting the license or certificate or by making and filing a renewal of licensure or certification to practice in this state, be deemed to have given her or his consent during a lawful investigation of a complaint to the following:(1) To render a handwriting sample to an agent of the department and, further, to have waived any objections to its use as evidence against her or him.(2) To waive the confidentiality and authorize the preparation and release of all medical reports pertaining to the mental or physical condition of the osteopathic physician herself or himself when the department has reason to believe that a violation of this chapter has occurred and when the department issues an order, based on the need for additional information, to produce such medical reports for the time period relevant to the complaint. As used in this section, the term “medical reports” means a compilation of medical treatment of the osteopathic physician herself or himself, including symptoms, diagnosis, treatment prescribed, relevant history, and progress.(3) To waive any objection to the admissibility of the medical reports as constituting privileged communications. Such material maintained by the department shall remain confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) until probable cause is found and an administrative complaint issued.459.018 Search warrants for certain violations.—When the department has reason to believe that violations of s. 459.015(1)(t) or (u) have occurred or are occurring, its agents or other duly authorized persons may search an osteopathic physician’s place of practice for purposes of securing such evidence as may be needed for prosecution. Such evidence shall not include any medical records of patients unless pursuant to the patient’s written consent. Notwithstanding the consent of the patient, such records maintained by the department are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1). This section shall not limit the psychotherapist-patient privileges of s. 90.503. Prior to a search, the department shall secure a search warrant from any judge authorized by law to issue search warrants. The search warrant shall be issued upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation particularly describing the things to be seized. The application for the warrant shall be sworn to and subscribed, and the judge may require further testimony from witnesses, supporting affidavits, or depositions in writing to support the application. The application and supporting information, if required, must set forth the facts tending to establish the grounds of the application or probable cause that they exist. If the judge is satisfied that probable cause exists, he or she shall issue a search warrant signed by him or her with the judge’s name of office to any agent or other person duly authorized by the department to execute process, commanding the agent or person to search the place described in the warrant for the property specified. The search warrant shall be served only by the agent or person mentioned in it and by no other person except an aide of the agent or person when such agent or person is present and acting in its execution. Subpoena of certain records.—Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 456.057, the department may issue subpoenas duces tecum requiring the names and addresses of some or all of the patients of an osteopathic physician against whom a complaint has been filed pursuant to s. 456.073. 459.021 Registration of resident physicians, interns, and fellows; list of hospital employees; penalty.—(1) Any person who holds a degree of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from a college of osteopathic medicine recognized and approved by the American Osteopathic Association who desires to practice as a resident physician, intern, or fellow in fellowship training which leads to subspecialty board certification in this state, or any person desiring to practice as a resident physician, intern, or fellow in fellowship training in a teaching hospital in this state as defined in s. 408.07 or s. 395.805(2), who does not hold an active license issued under this chapter shall apply to the department to be registered, on an application provided by the department, before commencing such a training program and shall remit a fee not to exceed $300 as set by the board.(2) Any person required to be registered under this section shall renew such registration annually and shall remit a renewal fee not to exceed $300 as set by the board. Such registration shall be terminated upon the registrant’s receipt of an active license issued under this chapter. A person may not be registered under this section for an aggregate of more than 5 years, unless additional years are approved by the board.(3) Every hospital or teaching hospital having employed or contracted with or utilized the services of a person who holds a degree of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from a college of osteopathic medicine recognized and approved by the American Osteopathic Association as a resident physician, intern, or fellow in fellowship training registered under this section shall designate a person who shall furnish, on dates designated by the board, in consultation with the department, to the department a list of all such persons who have served in such hospital during the preceding 6-month period. The chief executive officer of each such hospital shall provide the executive director of the board with the name, title, and address of the person responsible for filing such reports.(4) The registration may be revoked or the department may refuse to issue any registration for any cause which would be a ground for its revocation or refusal to issue a license to practice osteopathic medicine, as well as on the following grounds:(a) Omission of the name of an intern, resident physician, or fellow in fellowship training from the list of employees required by subsection (3) to be furnished to the department by the hospital or teaching hospital served by the employee.(b) Practicing osteopathic medicine outside of a bona fide hospital training program.(5) It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any hospital or teaching hospital, and also for the superintendent, administrator, and other person or persons having administrative authority in such hospital to willfully:(a) Employ the services in such hospital of any person listed in subsection (3), unless such person is registered with the department under the law or the holder of a license to practice osteopathic medicine under this chapter.(b) Fail to furnish to the department the list and information required by subsection (3).(6) Any person desiring registration pursuant to this section shall meet all the requirements of s. 459.0055, except paragraphs (1)(l) and (m).(7) The board shall promulgate rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 as necessary to implement this section.(8) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or s. 120.52 to the contrary, any person who is registered under this section is subject to the provisions of s. 459.015.(9) A person registered as a resident physician under this section may in the normal course of his or her employment prescribe medicinal drugs described in schedules set out in chapter 893 when:(a) The person prescribes such medicinal drugs through use of a Drug Enforcement Administration number issued to the hospital or teaching hospital by which the person is employed or at which the person’s services are used;
(b) The person is identified by a discrete suffix to the identification number issued to such hospital; and
(c) The use of the institutional identification number and individual suffixes conforms to the requirements of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
459.022 Physician assistants.—
(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—
(a) The purpose of this section is to encourage more effective utilization of the skills of osteopathic physicians or groups of osteopathic physicians by enabling them to delegate health care tasks to qualified assistants when such delegation is consistent with the patient’s health and welfare.
(b) In order that maximum skills may be obtained within a minimum time period of education, a physician assistant shall be specialized to the extent that she or he can operate efficiently and effectively in the specialty areas in which she or he has been trained or is experienced.
(c) The purpose of this section is to encourage the utilization of physician assistants by osteopathic physicians and to allow for innovative development of programs for the education of physician assistants.
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
(a) “Approved program” means a program, formally approved by the boards, for the education of physician assistants.
(b) “Boards” means the Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine.
(c) “Council” means the Council on Physician Assistants.
(d) “Trainee” means a person who is currently enrolled in an approved program.
(e) “Physician assistant” means a person who is a graduate of an approved program or its equivalent or meets standards approved by the boards and is licensed to perform medical services delegated by the supervising physician.
(f) “Supervision” means responsible supervision and control. Except in cases of emergency, supervision requires the easy availability or physical presence of the licensed physician for consultation and direction of the actions of the physician assistant. For the purposes of this definition, the term “easy availability” includes the ability to communicate by way of telecommunication. The boards shall establish rules as to what constitutes responsible supervision of the physician assistant.
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