Florida Controlled Substance Bill

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Apr 11, 2015

Oops...just realized the email is a tad off: [email protected]

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Apr 25, 2015

As an update...this bill has passed through the final committee and is set to go out for general voting. The expected date for enactment is July 1! Passage of this bill will bring NPs in Florida out of the dark ages. I don't expect the autonomy bills to fly, but maybe next year?

automotiveRN67 · Apr 26, 2015

Working in hospice/palliative care in Florida without being able to prescribe any controlled substances is a hassle. There are plenty of work-around's, but it slows things down a little bit.

While there are very real concerns every time a law like this is changed, the opposition hasn't addressed the current system to prove it is working as it should. Some of their arguments:

1) Physicians have much more training, and are therefore better able to prescribe controlled substances correctly.

So let's look at a common workaround. I see a patient who needs a controlled substance, or titration of a controlled substance. I call a physician who has never met the patient. He/she gives me an order for a controlled substance for this patient. They will never see this patient, examine them, or follow up on the effectiveness of their treatment. How does their "increased training", come into play in this scenario?

2) Physicians have a higher level of responsibility. If there are too many prescribers, there will be more problems.

Then explain why Florida has the highest use of prescription drugs per capita, and the highest incidence of prescription drug diversion, with all of its associated problems. Obviously, the problem exists, no matter who is prescribing.

3) Patients who need controlled substances may have serious medical issues that need to be evaluated by a physician.

Again, back to the training thing. While training is important when a physician or nurse practitioner enters the profession initially, it becomes less important as either physician or nurse practitioner gains experience. Experience gives the ability to recognize a pattern of signs or symptoms in a patient and choose the right path. Having patients wait to see a physician if they need controlled substances adds to increased cost for the system, and increased burden on primary care physicians at a time when there is already a shortage. And it doesn't guarantee that the physician seeing the patient for the first time will be able to recognize a problem at the first meeting. '

The current system doesn't work. As patient needs increase, and the number of patients increase, the system has to grow to provide for them. It looks like this bill will pass when it is voted on in the near future. As nurse practitioners, we have to ensure that we use our increased authority wisely, and with great attention to detail.

Melody007_FNP-C, APRN · Apr 30, 2015

Well that was a mute point as the bill is dead now! From the Florida Nurse Practitioner Network:

Yesterday the Florida House of Representatives declared the 2015 session over with their Sine Die announcement. They have not announced whether they will come back for a special session but it seems that all bills pending are dead.

We are very dissapointed that this happened at a time when our landmark legislation had a fighting chance to move forward. While we understand that there are extreme political differences between the House and the Senate, we encourage the House to reconvene and try and work out their differences. So many important bills were left hanging, including our CS "ordering" bill (HB281) and the Independent APRN bill (HB547).

We encourage you to reach out to your Representative to ask that they reconvene and hear our bills!

Fortunately, the Baker Act bill was passed by both the House & Senate and is on it's way to the Governor.

Posted about 9 hours ago by Janet DuBois

automotiveRN67 · May 1, 2015

That happens every year in Florida. It looked like it was going to make it to a vote this time.