Autonomous practice by an advanced practice registered nurse.

(1) REGISTRATION.—The board shall register an advanced practice registered nurse as an autonomous advanced practice registered nurse if the applicant demonstrates that he or she:

(a) Holds an active, unencumbered license to practice advanced nursing under s. 464.012.

(b) Has not been subject to any disciplinary action as specified in s. 456.072 or s. 464.018 or any similar disciplinary action in another state or other territory or jurisdiction within the 5 years immediately preceding the registration request.

(c) Has completed, in any state, jurisdiction, or territory of the United States, at least 3,000 clinical practice hours, which may include clinical instructional hours provided by the applicant, within the 5 years immediately preceding the registration request while practicing as an advanced practice registered nurse under the supervision of an allopathic or osteopathic physician who held an active, unencumbered license issued by any state, jurisdiction, or territory of the United States during the period of such supervision. For purposes of this paragraph, “clinical instruction” means education provided by faculty in a clinical setting in a graduate program leading to a master’s or doctoral degree in a clinical nursing specialty area.

(d) Has completed within the past 5 years 3 graduate-level semester hours, or the equivalent, in differential diagnosis and 3 graduate-level semester hours, or the equivalent, in pharmacology.

(e) The board may provide additional registration requirements by rule.

(2) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—

(a) An advanced practice registered nurse registered under this section must, by one of the following methods, demonstrate to the satisfaction of the board and the department financial responsibility to pay claims and costs ancillary thereto arising out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, nursing care, treatment, or services:

1. Obtaining and maintaining professional liability coverage in an amount not less than $100,000 per claim, with a minimum annual aggregate of not less than $300,000, from an authorized insurer as defined in s. 624.09, from a surplus lines insurer as defined in s. 626.914(2), from a risk retention group as defined in s. 627.942, from the Joint Underwriting Association established under s. 627.351(4), or through a plan of self-insurance as provided in s. 627.357; or

2. Obtaining and maintaining an unexpired, irrevocable letter of credit, established pursuant to chapter 675, in an amount of not less than $100,000 per claim, with a minimum aggregate availability of credit of not less than $300,000. The letter of credit must be payable to the advanced practice registered nurse as beneficiary upon presentment of a final judgment indicating liability and awarding damages to be paid by the advanced practice registered nurse or upon presentment of a settlement agreement signed by all parties to such agreement when such final judgment or settlement is a result of a claim arising out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, nursing care and services.

(b) The requirements of paragraph (a) do not apply to:

1. An advanced practice registered nurse registered under this section who practices exclusively as an officer, employee, or agent of the Federal Government or of the state or its agencies or its subdivisions.

2. An advanced practice registered nurse whose registration under this section has become inactive and who is not practicing as an advanced practice registered nurse registered under this section in this state.

3. An advanced practice registered nurse registered under this section who practices only in conjunction with his or her teaching duties at an accredited school or its main teaching hospitals. Such practice is limited to that which is incidental to and a necessary part of duties in connection with the teaching position.

4. An advanced practice registered nurse who holds an active registration under this section and who is not engaged in autonomous practice as authorized under this section in this state. If such person initiates or resumes any practice as an autonomous advanced practice registered nurse, he or she must notify the department of such activity and fulfill the professional liability coverage requirements of paragraph (a).

(3) PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS.—

(a) An advanced practice registered nurse who is registered under this section may:

1. Engage in autonomous practice only in primary care practice, including family medicine, general pediatrics, and general internal medicine, as defined by board rule.

2. For certified nurse midwives, engage in autonomous practice in the performance of the acts listed in s. 464.012(4)(c).

3. Perform the general functions of an advanced practice registered nurse under s. 464.012(3) related to primary care.

4. For a patient who requires the services of a health care facility, as defined in s. 408.032(8):

a. Admit the patient to the facility.

b. Manage the care received by the patient in the facility.

c. Discharge the patient from the facility, unless prohibited by federal law or rule.

5. Provide a signature, certification, stamp, verification, affidavit, or endorsement that is otherwise required by law to be provided by a physician, except an advanced practice registered nurse registered under this section may not issue a physician certification under s. 381.986.

(b)1. In order to provide out-of-hospital intrapartum care, a certified nurse midwife engaged in the autonomous practice of nurse midwifery must maintain a written policy for the transfer of patients needing a higher acuity of care or emergency services. The policy must prescribe and require the use of an emergency plan-of-care form, which must be signed by the patient before admission to intrapartum care. At a minimum, the form must include all of the following:

a. The name and address of the closest hospital that provides maternity and newborn services.

b. Reasons for which transfer of care would be necessary, including the transfer-of-care conditions prescribed by board rule.

c. Ambulances or other emergency medical services that would be used to transport the patient in the event of an emergency.

2. If transfer of care is determined necessary by the certified nurse midwife or under the terms of the written policy, the certified nurse midwife must document all of the following information on the patient’s emergency plan-of-care form:

a. The name, date of birth, and condition of the patient.

b. The gravidity and parity of the patient and the gestational age and condition of the fetus or newborn infant.

c. The reasons that necessitated the transfer of care.

d. A description of the situation, relevant clinical background, assessment, and recommendations.

e. The planned mode of transporting the patient to the receiving facility.

f. The expected time of arrival at the receiving facility.

3. Before transferring the patient, or as soon as possible during or after an emergency transfer, the certified nurse midwife shall provide the receiving provider with a verbal summary of the information specified in subparagraph 2. and make himself or herself immediately available for consultation. Upon transfer of the patient to the receiving facility, the certified nurse midwife must provide the receiving provider with the patient’s emergency plan-of-care form as soon as practicable.

4. The certified nurse midwife shall provide the receiving provider, as soon as practicable, with the patient’s prenatal records, including patient history, prenatal laboratory results, sonograms, prenatal care flow sheets, maternal fetal medical reports, and labor flow charting and current notations.

5. The board shall adopt rules to prescribe transfer-of-care conditions, monitor for excessive transfers, conduct reviews of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, and monitor the licensure of certified nurse midwives engaged in autonomous practice.

(c) An advanced practice registered nurse engaging in autonomous practice under this section may not perform any surgical procedure other than a subcutaneous procedure.

(d) The board shall adopt rules, in consultation with the council created in subsection (4), establishing standards of practice for an advanced practice registered nurse registered under this section.

(4) COUNCIL ON ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE AUTONOMOUS PRACTICE.—

(a) The Council on Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Autonomous Practice is established within the Department of Health. The council must consist of the following nine members:

1. Two members appointed by the chair of the Board of Medicine who are physicians and members of the Board of Medicine.

2. Two members appointed by the chair of the Board of Osteopathic Medicine who are physicians and members of the Board of Osteopathic Medicine.

3. Four members appointed by the chair of the board who are advanced practice registered nurses registered under this chapter with experience practicing advanced or specialized nursing.

4. The State Surgeon General or his or her designee who shall serve as the chair of the council.

(b) The Board of Medicine members, the Board of Osteopathic Medicine members, and the Board of Nursing appointee members shall be appointed for terms of 4 years. The initial appointments shall be staggered so that one member from the Board of Medicine, one member from the Board of Osteopathic Medicine, and one appointee member from the Board of Nursing shall each be appointed for a term of 4 years; one member from the Board of Medicine and one appointee member from the Board of Nursing shall each be appointed for a term of 3 years; and one member from the Board of Osteopathic Medicine and two appointee members from the Board of Nursing shall each be appointed for a term of 2 years. Physician members appointed to the council must be physicians who have practiced with advanced practice registered nurses under a protocol in their practice.

(c) Council members may not serve more than two consecutive terms.

(d) The council shall recommend standards of practice for advanced practice registered nurses registered under this section to the board. If the board rejects a recommendation of the council, the board must state with particularity the basis for rejecting the recommendation and provide the council an opportunity to modify its recommendation. The board must consider the council’s modified recommendation.

(5) REGISTRATION RENEWAL.—

(a) An advanced practice registered nurse must biennially renew registration under this section. The biennial renewal for registration shall coincide with the advanced practice registered nurse’s biennial renewal period for licensure.

(b) To renew his or her registration under this section, an advanced practice registered nurse must complete at least 10 hours of continuing education approved by the board, in addition to completing 30 hours of continuing education requirements established by board rule pursuant to s. 464.013, regardless of whether the registrant is otherwise required to complete this requirement. If the initial renewal period occurs before January 1, 2021, an advanced practice registered nurse who is registered under this section is not required to complete the continuing education requirement within this subsection until the following biennial renewal period.

(6) PRACTITIONER PROFILE.—The department shall conspicuously distinguish an advanced practice registered nurse’s license if he or she is registered with the board under this section and include the registration in the advanced practice registered nurse’s practitioner profile created under s. 456.041.

(7) DISCLOSURES.—When engaging in autonomous practice, an advanced practice registered nurse registered under this section must provide information in writing to a new patient about his or her qualifications and the nature of autonomous practice before or during the initial patient encounter.

(8) RULES.—The board shall adopt rules to implement this section.