Limited licenses.

(1) PHYSICIANS LICENSED IN UNITED STATES JURISDICTIONS.—

(a) Any person desiring to obtain a limited license under this subsection must:

1. Submit to the board a licensure application and fee required by this chapter. However, an osteopathic 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 she or he will not receive monetary compensation for any service involving the practice of osteopathic medicine, the application fee and all licensure fees shall be waived. However, any person who receives a waiver of fees for a limited license must pay such fees if the person receives compensation for the practice of osteopathic medicine.

2. Submit proof that such osteopathic physician has been licensed to practice osteopathic medicine in any jurisdiction in the United States in good standing and pursuant to law for at least 10 years.

3. Complete an amount of continuing education established by the board.

(b) If it has been more than 3 years since active practice was conducted by the applicant, the full-time director of the local county health department must supervise the applicant for a period of 6 months after the applicant 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 under this subsection. 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 areas of critical medical need or in medically underserved areas as determined pursuant to 42 U.S.C. s. 300e-1(7).

(d) 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 the provisions of 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 she or he becomes aware of any action by the licensee which would be a ground for revocation of the limited license. The board shall establish procedures for such supervision.

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

(f) Any person holding an active license to practice osteopathic 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 she or he will not receive compensation for any service involving the practice of osteopathic 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 she or he meets all of the following criteria:

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

2. Has successfully passed all parts of the examination conducted by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners or other examination approved by the board.

3. Has not received and accepted a residency match from the National Residency 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. 459.015.

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. 459.015 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. 459.015. 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. 459.015, 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.