health, safety, and welfare of the public and must provide, at a minimum, that the consultant: (a) Accepts referrals; (b) Arranges for the evaluation and treatment of impaired practitioners by a treatment provider when the consultant deems such evaluation and treatment necessary; (c) Monitors the recovery progress and status of impaired practitioners to ensure that such practitioners are able to practice their profession with skill and safety. Such monitoring must continue until the consultant or department concludes that monitoring by the consultant is no longer required for the protection of the public or until the practitioner’s participation in the program is terminated for material noncompliance or inability to progress; and (d) Does not directly evaluate, treat, or otherwise provide patient care to a practitioner in the operation of the impaired practitioner program. (4) The department shall specify, in its contract with each consultant, the types of licenses, registrations, or certifications of the practitioners to be served by that consultant. (5) A consultant shall enter into a participant contract with an impaired practitioner and shall establish the terms of monitoring and shall include the terms in a participant contract. In establishing the terms of monitoring, the consultant may consider the recommendations of one or more approved evaluators, treatment programs, or treatment providers. A consultant may modify the terms of monitoring if the consultant concludes, through the course of monitoring, that extended, additional, or amended terms of monitoring are required for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public. If the impaired practitioner is a health care practitioner practicing under the Professional Counselors Licensure Compact pursuant to s. 491.017 , the terms of the monitoring contract must include the impaired practitioner’s withdrawal from all practice under the compact. If the impaired practitioner is a psychologist practicing under the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact pursuant to s. 490.0075 , the terms of the monitoring contract must include the impaired practitioner’s withdrawal from all practice under the compact. (6) A consultant is not required to be licensed as a substance abuse provider or mental health treatment provider under chapter 394, chapter 395, or chapter 397 for purposes of providing services under this program. (7) Each consultant shall assist the department and licensure boards on matters of impaired practitioners, including the determination of whether a practitioner is, in fact, impaired, as specified in the consultant’s contract with the department. (8) Before issuing an approval of, or intent to deny, an application for licensure, each board and profession within the Division of Medical Quality Assurance may delegate to its chair or other designee its authority to determine that an applicant for licensure under its jurisdiction may have an impairment. Upon such determination, the chair or other designee may refer the applicant to the consultant to facilitate an evaluation before the board issues an approval of, or intent to deny, his or her application. If the applicant agrees to be evaluated, the department’s deadline for approving or denying the application pursuant to s. 120.60(1) is tolled until the evaluation is completed and the result of the evaluation and recommendation
is communicated to the board by the consultant. If the applicant declines to be evaluated, the board shall issue an approval of, or intent to deny, the applicant’s application notwithstanding the lack of an evaluation and recommendation by the consultant. (9) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), when the department receives a legally sufficient complaint alleging that a practitioner has an impairment and no complaint exists against the practitioner other than impairment, the department shall refer the practitioner to the consultant, along with all information in the department’s possession relating to the impairment. The impairment does not constitute grounds for discipline pursuant to s. 456.072 or the applicable practice act if: 1. The practitioner has acknowledged the impairment; 2. The practitioner becomes a participant in an impaired practitioner program and successfully completes a participant contract under terms established by the consultant; 3. The practitioner has voluntarily withdrawn from practice or has limited the scope of his or her practice if required by the consultant; 4. The practitioner has provided to the consultant, in the event of the practitioner’s termination from the impaired practitioner program, to report the termination to the department and provide the department with copies of all information in the consultant’s possession relating to the practitioner. (b) For a practitioner employed by a governmental entity who is also certified by the department pursuant to part III of chapter 401, the department may not refer the practitioner to the consultant, as described in paragraph (a), when the practitioner has already been referred by his or her employer to an employee assistance program used by the governmental entity. If the practitioner fails to satisfactorily complete the employee assistance program or his or her employment is terminated, the employer shall immediately notify the department, which shall then refer the practitioner to the consultant as provided in paragraph (a). (10) To encourage practitioners who are or may be impaired to voluntarily self-refer to a consultant, the consultant may not provide information to the department relating to a self-referring participant if the consultant has no knowledge of a pending department investigation, complaint, or disciplinary action against the participant and if the participant is in compliance and making progress with the terms of the impaired practitioner program and contract, unless authorized by the participant. (11) In any disciplinary action for a violation other than impairment in which a practitioner establishes the violation for which the practitioner is being prosecuted was due to or connected with impairment and further establishes the practitioner is satisfactorily progressing through or has successfully completed an impaired practitioner program pursuant to this section, such information may be considered by the board, or the department when there is no board, as a mitigating consultant, or has authorized the consultant to obtain, all records and information relating to the impairment from any source and all other medical records of the practitioner requested by the consultant; and 5. The practitioner has authorized the
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Book Code: MFL1225
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