new legislation impacting your profession
SB 1676
Florida legislators are considering bills that would allow Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to work completely independent of physicians, breaking up the healthcare team. We believe every patient deserves physician-led care, and we believe that physician education is long and rigorous for a reason.
Please write your local Senator today opposing SB 1676. Below is an example of a letter to email:
Click here to email your local Senator regarding SB 1676:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s23
Suggested letter for Senator:
Dear Legislator:
I am writing to you today to share my concerns regarding Senate Bill 1676, which would allow Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to practice independently without any supervision by licensed physicians.
A patient’s health and well-being must always take precedence over political rhetoric. APRNs are not interchangeable with physicians, who are by far the most educated and skilled members of the healthcare team. In addition to completing four years of medical school, physicians receive three to seven years of residency training, which includes more than 15,000 clinical training hours. APRNs spend 1.5 to three years in nursing programs, are not required to complete any training beyond graduate school, and receive only 500 to 1,500 clinical training hours.
While APRNs play valuable roles, any legislation that would allow them to practice beyond the scope of their training is not just bad policy but a very real threat to patient safety.
I support the efforts of the Florida Patient Protection Coalition, whose 50-plus medical professional societies agree that physician-led, team-based care is best for all Floridians. I urge you to put patients first by voting NO on Senate Bill 1676.
Thank you for your consideration.
House Bill 451, Non-opioid Alternatives, was approved by Governor DeSantis and is effective July 1, 2019. The bill requires that before providing anesthesia or prescribing, ordering, dispensing, or administering an opioid listed as a Schedule II controlled substance to treat pain, the patient must be informed about available non-opioid alternatives. A healthcare practitioner will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using non-opioid alternatives. Under the new law, the department is required to develop an educational pamphlet about using non-opioid alternatives and post the pamphlet on the department’s website. Healthcare practitioners must provide the patient with this educational pamphlet. Those healthcare practitioners providing emergency services and care are exempt from these requirements.
We’ve attached the pamphlet that will be posted on the department’s website. The pamphlet can be viewed here. The pamphlet will be posted on your board’s webpage under the “resources” section.
House Bill 451, Non-opioid Alternatives, was approved by Governor DeSantis and is effective July 1, 2019. The bill requires that before providing anesthesia or prescribing, ordering, dispensing, or administering an opioid listed as a Schedule II controlled substance to treat pain, the patient must be informed about available non-opioid alternatives. A healthcare practitioner will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using non-opioid alternatives. Under the new law, the department is required to develop an educational pamphlet about using non-opioid alternatives and post the pamphlet on the department’s website. Healthcare practitioners must provide the patient with this educational pamphlet. Those healthcare practitioners providing emergency services and care are exempt from these requirements.
We’ve attached the pamphlet that will be posted on the department’s website. The pamphlet can be viewed here. The pamphlet will be posted on your board’s webpage under the “resources” section.