Bill Text: FL S1040 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Veterinary Practices
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-04 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 849 [S1040 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1040-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Veterinary Practices
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-04 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 849 [S1040 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1040-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for SB 1040 By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Regulated Industries; and Senator Bradley 594-03639-24 20241040c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to veterinary practices; amending s. 3 474.202, F.S.; defining the term “veterinary 4 telehealth”; creating s. 474.2021, F.S.; providing a 5 short title; authorizing licensed veterinarians to 6 practice veterinary telehealth in accordance with 7 specified criteria; specifying the powers of the Board 8 of Veterinary Medicine related to the practice of 9 telehealth; providing that the practice of veterinary 10 medicine is deemed to occur under specified 11 circumstances; specifying the conditions under which a 12 veterinarian may practice veterinary telehealth; 13 specifying the drugs that a veterinarian practicing 14 telehealth may not provide unless specified conditions 15 are met; providing specific authorizations for cases 16 in which the patient is a food-producing species; 17 amending s. 474.2165, F.S.; conforming a provision to 18 changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 19 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21 22 Section 1. Subsection (14) is added to section 474.202, 23 Florida Statutes, to read: 24 474.202 Definitions.—As used in this chapter: 25 (14) “Veterinary telehealth” means the use of synchronous 26 or asynchronous telecommunications technology by a telehealth 27 provider to provide health care services, including, but not 28 limited to, assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, and 29 monitoring of a patient; transfer of medical data; patient and 30 professional health-related education; public health services; 31 and health administration. 32 Section 2. Section 474.2021, Florida Statutes, is created 33 to read: 34 474.2021 Veterinary telehealth.— 35 (1) This section may be cited as the “Providing Equity in 36 Telehealth Services Act.” 37 (2) A veterinarian who holds a current license to practice 38 veterinary medicine in this state may practice veterinary 39 telehealth. 40 (3) The board has jurisdiction over a veterinarian 41 practicing veterinary telehealth, regardless of where the 42 veterinarian’s physical office is located. The practice of 43 veterinary medicine is deemed to occur when the veterinarian, 44 the patient, or both are located within this state at the time 45 the veterinarian practices veterinary telehealth. 46 (4) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth: 47 (a) May not engage in the practice of veterinary telehealth 48 unless it is within the context of a veterinarian/client/patient 49 relationship; 50 (b) Shall practice in a manner consistent with his or her 51 scope of practice and the prevailing professional standard of 52 practice for a veterinarian who provides in-person veterinary 53 services to patients in this state and shall employ sound, 54 professional judgment to determine whether using veterinary 55 telehealth is an appropriate method for delivering medical 56 advice or treatment to the patient; 57 (c) May use veterinary telehealth to perform an initial 58 patient evaluation to establish the veterinarian/client/patient 59 relationship if the evaluation is conducted using synchronous, 60 audiovisual communication. The evaluation may not be performed 61 using audio only communications, text messaging, questionnaires, 62 chatbots, or other similar means. If a veterinarian practicing 63 telehealth conducts a patient evaluation sufficient to diagnose 64 and treat the patient, the veterinarian is not required to 65 research a patient’s medical history or conduct a physical 66 examination of the patient before using veterinary telehealth to 67 provide a veterinary health care service to the patient; 68 (d) If the initial patient evaluation is performed using 69 veterinary telehealth, must provide the client with a statement 70 containing the veterinarian’s name, license number, and contact 71 information and the contact information for at least one 72 physical veterinary clinic in the vicinity of the patient’s 73 location and instructions for how to receive patient follow-up 74 care or assistance if the veterinarian and client are unable to 75 communicate because of a technological or equipment failure or 76 if there is an adverse reaction to treatment. The veterinarian 77 shall obtain from the client a signed and dated statement 78 indicating the client has received the required information 79 before practicing veterinary telehealth; 80 (e) Shall prescribe all drugs and medications in accordance 81 with all federal and state laws and the following requirements: 82 1. A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth may 83 order, prescribe, or make available medicinal drugs or drugs 84 specifically approved for use in animals by the United States 85 Food and Drug Administration, the use of which conforms to the 86 approved labeling. Prescriptions based solely on a telehealth 87 evaluation may be issued for up to 1 month for products labeled 88 solely for flea and tick control and up to 14 days of treatment 89 for other animal drugs. Prescriptions based solely on a 90 telehealth evaluation may not be renewed without an in-person 91 examination. 92 2. A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth may not 93 order, prescribe, or make available medicinal drugs or drugs as 94 defined in s. 465.003 approved by the United States Food and 95 Drug Administration for human use or compounded antibacterial, 96 antifungal, antiviral, or antiparasitic medications, unless the 97 veterinarian has conducted an in-person physical examination of 98 the animal or made medically appropriate and timely visits to 99 the premises where the animal is kept. 100 3. A veterinarian may not use veterinary telehealth to 101 prescribe a controlled substance as defined in chapter 893 102 unless the veterinarian has conducted an in-person physical 103 examination of the animal or made medically appropriate and 104 timely visits within the past year to the premises where the 105 animal is kept. 106 4. A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth may not 107 prescribe a drug or other medication for use on a horse engaged 108 in racing or training at a facility under the jurisdiction of 109 the Florida Gaming Control Commission or on a horse that is a 110 covered horse as defined in the federal Horseracing Integrity 111 and Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. ss. 3051 et seq.; 112 (f) Shall be familiar with available veterinary resources, 113 including emergency resources, near the patient’s location and 114 be able to provide the client with a list of nearby 115 veterinarians who may be able to see the patient in person upon 116 the request of the client; 117 (g) Shall keep, maintain, and make available a summary of 118 the patient record as provided in s. 474.2165; and 119 (h) May not use veterinary telehealth to issue an 120 international or interstate travel certificate or a certificate 121 of veterinary inspection. 122 (5) A veterinarian personally acquainted with the caring 123 and keeping of an animal or group of animals on food-producing 124 animal operations on land classified as agricultural pursuant to 125 s. 193.461 who has recently seen the animal or group of animals 126 or has made medically appropriate and timely visits to the 127 premises where the animal or group of animals is kept may 128 practice veterinary telehealth for animals on such operations. 129 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 474.2165, Florida 130 Statutes, is amended to read: 131 474.2165 Ownership and control of veterinary medical 132 patient records; report or copies of records to be furnished.— 133 (1) As used in this section, the term “records owner” means 134 any veterinarian who generates a medical record after making an 135a physicalexamination of, or administering treatment or 136 dispensing legend drugs to, any patient; any veterinarian to 137 whom records are transferred by a previous records owner; or any 138 veterinarian’s employer, provided the employment contract or 139 agreement between the employer and the veterinarian designates 140 the employer as the records owner. 141 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.