Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
Unless otherwise approved by the Board or its designee, or
addressed by the Final Order, the following are the terms applicable to all
Final Orders rendered by the Board in disciplinary proceedings.
(1) Payment of Fines and Costs. All fines and
costs shall be paid by check or money order made payable to the Board and sent
to DOH/Client Services, P.O. Box 6320, Tallahassee, Florida 32314-6320, within
30 days of the filing of the Order.
(2) Addresses. Respondent must keep current
residence and practice addresses on file with the Board. Respondent shall
notify the Compliance Office, in writing, within 10 days of any changes of
those addresses. Furthermore, if the Respondent's license is on probation, the
Respondent shall notify the Compliance Office within 10 days in the event that
Respondent leaves the active practice of medicine in Florida.
(3) Compliance Address. All reports,
correspondence and inquiries shall be sent to: DOH, Client Services Unit, 4052
Bald Cypress Way, Bin #C01, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3251, Attn: Medical
Compliance Officer.
(4) Continuity
of Practice.
(a) Tolling Provisions. In the
event the Respondent leaves the State of Florida for a period of 30 days or
more or otherwise does not or may not engage in the active practice of medicine
in the State of Florida, then certain provisions of the requirements in the
Board's Order shall be tolled and shall remain in a tolled status until
Respondent returns to the active practice of medicine in the State of Florida.
Respondent shall notify the Compliance Officer 10 days prior to his/her return
to practice in the State of Florida. The following requirements shall be tolled
until the Respondent returns to active practice:
1. The time period of probation shall be
tolled.
2. The provisions regarding
direct supervision and required reports from the supervisor shall be
tolled.
3. The requirement for
quality assurance review of Respondent's practice shall be tolled.
4. Any provisions regarding community service
shall be tolled.
5. Any
requirements regarding lectures shall be tolled.
(b) Active Practice. In the event that
Respondent leaves the active practice of medicine for a period of one year or
more, the Respondent may be required to appear before the Board and demonstrate
the ability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to patients
prior to resuming the practice of medicine in the State of
Florida.
(5) Community
Service and Continuing Education Units. All community service requirements,
continuing education units/courses must be completed, and documentation of such
completion submitted to DOH/Client Services, at the address set forth in
subsection (3), above.
(a) Definition of
Community Service. "Community service" shall be defined as the delivery of
volunteer services to an entity which is exempt from federal taxation under
26 U.S.C. s.
501(c)(3), without fee or
cost to the patient or the entity, for the good of the people of the State of
Florida. Community service shall be performed outside the physician assistant's
regular practice setting. Community service plans must be pre-approved by the
Board.
(b) Continuing Education.
Continuing education imposed by Board Order shall be in addition to those hours
required for biennial renewal of licensure. Said continuing education courses
must be pre-approved by the Board and shall consist of a formal live lecture
format.
(6) Probation
Terms. If probation was imposed by Board Order, the following provisions are
applicable:
(a) Definitions: Direct
Supervision - is supervision by a supervising physician (supervisor), as set
forth in the Order. Direct supervision requires that the supervisor and
Respondent work on the same premises. The supervisor shall be board-certified
in the Respondent's specialty area.
(b) Required Supervision:
1. If the terms of the Order direct
supervision of the licensee's practice (supervision), the Respondent shall not
practice medicine without an approved supervisor, as specified by the Final
Order.
2. The supervisor must be
licensed under Chapter 459, F.S., in good standing, in active status, without
restriction or limitation on his/her license, must be qualified by training and
experience, and must not have any conflicts of interest that would prohibit him
or her from impartially performing his or her duties as a monitor. Specific
grounds for rejecting a proposed supervisor by the Board or its designee shall
include but are not limited to the following:
a. The proposed supervisor has previously
been subject to disciplinary action against his/her medical license in this or
any other jurisdiction,
b. The
proposed supervisor is currently under investigation, or is the subject of a
pending disciplinary action,
c. The
proposed supervisor is not actively engaged in the same or similar specialty
area,
d. The proposed supervisor is
not practicing on the same premises as the Respondent,
e. The proposed supervisor is a relative or
employee of the Respondent.
(c) Temporary Approval. The Board confers
authority on the Chair of the Board to temporarily approve Respondent's
supervisor. To obtain this temporary approval, Respondent shall submit to the
Compliance Officer the name and curriculum vitae of the proposed supervisor.
This information shall be furnished to the Chair of the Board by way of the
Compliance Officer. This information may be faxed to the Compliance Officer at
(850)414-0864, or may be sent by overnight mail to the Compliance address as
set forth in subsection (3), above. Should Respondent's supervising physician
be temporarily approved, said approval shall only remain in effect until the
next meeting of the Board. Absent said approval, Respondent shall not practice
medicine until a supervising physician is approved. Temporary approval shall
only remain in effect until the next meeting of the Board.
(d) Formal Approval. If Respondent is placed
under the direct supervision of a physician, Respondent shall have the
supervisor with him/her at the first probation appearance before the Board.
Prior to consideration of the monitor/supervisor by the Board, the Respondent
shall provide the supervisor a copy of the Administrative Complaint and the
Board's Order in this case. Respondent shall submit a current curriculum vitae,
a description of current practice, and a letter agreeing to serve from the
proposed supervisor to the Compliance Officer no later than 21 days before the
Respondent's first scheduled probation appearance. Respondent's supervisor
shall also appear before the Board at such times as directed by the Board. It
shall be the Respondent's responsibility to ensure the appearance of his/her
supervisor as directed. Failure of the supervisor to appear as directed shall
constitute a violation of the terms of the Board's Order and shall render the
Respondent subject to additional disciplinary action.
(e) Change in Supervisor. In the event that
Respondent's supervisor is unable or unwilling to fulfill his/her
responsibilities as a supervisor as described above, the Respondent shall
advise the Compliance Office of this fact within 24 hours of becoming aware of
the situation. Respondent shall submit to the Compliance Office the name of a
temporary supervisor for consideration. Respondent shall not practice pending
approval of this temporary supervisor by the Chair of the Board. Furthermore,
Respondent shall make arrangements with his/her temporary supervisor to appear
before the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting for consideration of
the supervisor by the Board. Respondent shall only practice under the
supervision of the temporary supervisor (approved by the Chair) until the next
regularly scheduled meeting of the Board whereat the issue of the Board Chair's
approval of the Respondent's new supervisor shall be addressed.
(f) Reports. If directed by Board Order,
probation reports, in affidavit form, shall be submitted by the Respondent and
shall contain the following:
1. Brief
statement of why physician assistant is on probation.
2. Practice location.
3. Describe current practice (type and
composition).
4. Brief statement of
compliance with probationary terms.
5. Describe relationship with supervising
physician.
6. Advise Compliance
Officer of any problems including office incident reports filed; loss or
restriction of hospital staff privileges; or any Medicare/Medicaid program
exclusions, restrictions or limitations.
(g) Supervisor Reports. If directed by Board
Order, supervisor reports, in affidavit form shall include the following:
1. Brief statement of why physician assistant
is on probation.
2. Description of
probationer's practice.
3. Brief
statement of probationer's compliance with terms of probation.
4. Brief description of probationer's
relationship with supervising physician.
5. Detail any problems which may have arisen
with probationer.
(h)
Investigative Reports. Respondent understands that during the period of
probation, at a minimum, semi-annual investigative reports will be compiled
with the Department of Health concerning compliance with the terms and
conditions of probation and the rules and statutes regulating the practice of
medicine.
(7) Costs of
Compliance. Respondent shall pay all costs necessary to comply with the terms
of the Board's Order. Such costs include, but are not limited to, the costs of
preparation of the investigative reports detailing compliance with the terms of
the Order, the cost of analysis of any blood or urine specimens submitted
pursuant to the Order, and administrative costs directly associated with
Respondent's probation. See Section
459.015(2),
F.S.
(8) Suspension. In the event
that a Respondent's license expires during the period that the license is
suspended, this action shall not relieve the Respondent of the responsibility
to renew the license at the end of each licensure period. If the Respondent
fails to renew the license at the end of any licensure period, all normal
conditions and consequences imposed by statute or rule of the Board for failure
to timely and properly renew a license shall apply. Renewal of a suspended
license during the period of suspension shall not affect the suspension of the
license and the suspension shall continue until all requirements for
reinstatement have been met.
(9)
Return of License. Any Order which suspends a license, revokes a license, or
accepts a Respondent's offer to voluntarily relinquish his/her license shall
require the Respondent to return the license to the Department within 30 days
from the date the Final Order is filed. This shall not apply to instances where
the Board or a court has granted the Respondent a stay of the
suspension.
Rulemaking Authority 459.005(1), 459.015(5) FS. Law
Implemented 456.072(2), 459.015(5) FS.
New 11-11-07.