Limited licenses.

(1) PHYSICIANS LICENSED IN UNITED STATES JURISDICTIONS.—

(a) Any person desiring to obtain a limited license under this subsection shall submit to the board an application and fee not to exceed $300 and demonstrate that he or she has been licensed to practice medicine in any jurisdiction in the United States for at least 10 years and intends to practice only pursuant to the restrictions of a limited license granted pursuant to this subsection. However, a physician who is not fully retired in all jurisdictions may use a limited license only for noncompensated practice. If the person applying for a limited license submits a statement from the employing agency or institution stating that he or she will not receive compensation for any service involving the practice of medicine, the application fee and all licensure fees shall be waived. However, any person who receives a waiver of fees for a limited license shall pay such fees if the person receives compensation for the practice of medicine.

(b) If it has been more than 3 years since active practice was conducted by the applicant, the full-time director of the county health department or a licensed physician, approved by the board, must supervise the applicant for a period of 6 months after he or she is granted a limited license under this subsection, unless the board determines that a shorter period of supervision will be sufficient to ensure that the applicant is qualified for licensure. Procedures for such supervision must be established by the board.

(c) The recipient of a limited license under this subsection may practice only in the employ of public agencies or institutions or nonprofit agencies or institutions meeting the requirements of s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which agencies or institutions are located in the areas of critical medical need as determined by the board. Determination of medically underserved areas shall be made by the board after consultation with the department and statewide medical organizations; however, such determination shall include, but not be limited to, health professional shortage areas designated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. A recipient of a limited license under this subsection may use the license to work for any approved employer in any area of critical need approved by the board.

(d) The recipient of a limited license shall, within 30 days after accepting employment, notify the board of all approved institutions in which the licensee practices and of all approved institutions where practice privileges have been denied.

(e) This subsection does not limit any policy by the board, otherwise authorized by law, to grant licenses to physicians duly licensed in other states under conditions less restrictive than the requirements of this subsection. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subsection, the board may refuse to authorize a physician otherwise qualified to practice in the employ of any agency or institution otherwise qualified if the agency or institution has caused or permitted violations of the provisions of this chapter which it knew or should have known were occurring.

(f) The board shall notify the director of the full-time local county health department of any county in which a licensee intends to practice under this subsection. The director of the full-time county health department shall assist in the supervision of any licensee within the county and shall notify the board if he or she becomes aware of any actions by the licensee which would be grounds for revocation of the limited license. The board shall establish procedures for such supervision.

(g) The board shall review the practice of each licensee biennially to verify compliance with the restrictions prescribed in this subsection and other applicable provisions of this chapter.

(h) Any person holding an active license to practice medicine in this state may convert that license to a limited license under this subsection for the purpose of providing volunteer, uncompensated care for low-income Floridians. The applicant must submit a statement from the employing agency or institution stating that he or she will not receive compensation for any service involving the practice of medicine. The application fee and all licensure fees, including neurological injury compensation assessments, are waived for such applicant.

(2) GRADUATE ASSISTANT PHYSICIANS.—A graduate assistant physician is a medical school graduate who meets the requirements of this subsection and has obtained a limited license from the board for the purpose of practicing temporarily under the direct supervision of a physician who has a full, active, and unencumbered license issued under this chapter, pending the graduate’s entrance into a residency under the National Resident Match Program.

(a) Any person desiring to obtain a limited license as a graduate assistant physician must submit to the board an application and demonstrate that he or she meets all of the following criteria:

1. Is a graduate of an allopathic medical school or allopathic college approved by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

2. Has successfully passed all parts of the United States Medical Licensing Examination.

3. Has not received and accepted a residency match from the National Resident Match Program within the first year following graduation from medical school.

(b) The board shall issue a graduate assistant physician limited license for a duration of 2 years to an applicant who meets the requirements of paragraph (a) and all of the following criteria:

1. Is at least 21 years of age.

2. Is of good moral character.

3. Submits documentation that the applicant has agreed to enter into a written protocol drafted by a physician with a full, active, and unencumbered license issued under this chapter upon the board’s issuance of a limited license to the applicant and submits a copy of the protocol. The board shall establish by rule specific provisions that must be included in a physician-drafted protocol.

4. Has not committed any act or offense in this or any other jurisdiction which would constitute the basis for disciplining a physician under s. 458.331.

5. Has submitted to the department a set of fingerprints on a form and under procedures specified by the department.

6. The board may not certify to the department for limited licensure under this subsection any applicant who is under investigation in another jurisdiction for an offense which would constitute a violation of this chapter or chapter 456 until such investigation is completed. Upon completion of the investigation, s. 458.331 applies. Furthermore, the department may not issue a limited license to any individual who has committed any act or offense in any jurisdiction which would constitute the basis for disciplining a physician under s. 458.331. If the board finds that an individual has committed an act or offense in any jurisdiction which would constitute the basis for disciplining a physician under s. 458.331, the board may enter an order imposing one of the following terms:

a. Refusal to certify to the department an application for a graduate assistant physician limited license; or

b. Certification to the department of an application for a graduate assistant physician limited license with restrictions on the scope of practice of the licensee.

(c) A graduate assistant physician limited licensee may apply for a one-time renewal of his or her limited license by submitting a board-approved application, documentation of actual practice under the required protocol during the initial limited licensure period, and documentation of applications he or she has submitted for accredited graduate medical education training programs. The one-time renewal terminates after 1 year. A graduate assistant physician who has received a limited license under this subsection is not eligible to apply for another limited license, regardless of whether he or she received a one-time renewal under this paragraph.

(d) A limited licensed graduate assistant physician may provide health care services only under the direct supervision of a physician with a full, active, and unencumbered license issued under this chapter.

(e) A physician must be approved by the board to supervise a limited licensed graduate assistant physician.

(f) A physician may supervise no more than two graduate assistant physicians with limited licenses.

(g) Supervision of limited licensed graduate assistant physicians requires the physical presence of the supervising physician at the location where the services are rendered.

(h) A physician-drafted protocol must specify the duties and responsibilities of the limited licensed graduate assistant physician according to criteria adopted by board rule.

(i) Each protocol that applies to a limited licensed graduate assistant physician and his or her supervising physician must ensure that:

1. There is a process for the evaluation of the limited licensed graduate assistant physicians’ performance; and

2. The delegation of any medical task or procedure is within the supervising physician’s scope of practice and appropriate for the graduate assistant physician’s level of competency.

(j) A limited licensed graduate assistant physician’s prescriptive authority is governed by the physician-drafted protocol and criteria adopted by the board and may not exceed that of his or her supervising physician. Any prescriptions and orders issued by the graduate assistant physician must identify both the graduate assistant physician and the supervising physician.

(k) A physician who supervises a graduate assistant physician is liable for any acts or omissions of the graduate assistant physician acting under the physician’s supervision and control. Third-party payors may reimburse employers of graduate assistant physicians for covered services rendered by graduate assistant physicians.

(3) RULES.—The board may adopt rules to implement this section.