factor in determining the appropriate penalty. This subsection does not limit mitigating factors the board may consider. (12) (a) Upon request by the consultant, and with the authorization of the practitioner when required by law, an approved evaluator, treatment program, or treatment provider shall disclose to the consultant all information in its possession regarding a referral or participant. Failure to provide such information to the consultant is grounds for withdrawal of approval of such evaluator, treatment program, or treatment provider. (b) When a referral or participant is terminated from the impaired practitioner program for material noncompliance with a participant contract, inability to progress, or any other reason than completion of the program, the consultant shall disclose all information in the consultant’s possession relating to the practitioner to the department. Such disclosure shall constitute a complaint pursuant to the general provisions of s. 456.073. In addition, whenever the consultant concludes that impairment affects a practitioner’s practice and constitutes an immediate, serious danger to the public health, safety, or welfare, the consultant shall immediately communicate such conclusion to the department and disclose all information in the consultant’s possession relating to the practitioner to the department. (13) All information obtained by the consultant pursuant to this section is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07 (1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. (14) The provisions of s. 766.101 apply to any consultant and the consultant’s directors, officers, employees, or agents in regard to providing information relating to a participant to a medical review committee if the participant authorizes such disclosure. (15) (a) A consultant retained pursuant to this section and a consultant’s directors, officers, employees, or agents shall be considered agents of the department for purposes of s. 768.28 while acting within the scope of the consultant’s duties under the contract with the department. (b) In accordance with s. 284.385, the Department of Financial Services shall defend any claim, suit, action, or proceeding, including a claim, suit, action, or proceeding for injunctive, affirmative, or declaratory relief, against the consultant, or the consultant’s directors, officers, employees, and agents, brought as the result of any action or omission relating to the impaired practitioner program. (16) If a consultant retained by the department pursuant to this section is also retained by another state agency to operate an impaired practitioner program for that agency, this section also applies to the consultant’s operation of an impaired practitioner program for that agency. (17) A consultant may disclose to a referral or participant, or to the legal representative of the referral or participant, the documents, records, or other information from the 456.077—Authority to Issue Citations (1) Notwithstanding s. 456.073, the board, or the department if there is no board, shall adopt rules to permit the issuance of citations. The citation shall be issued to the subject and shall contain the subject’s name and address, the subject’s license number if
consultant’s file, including information received by the consultant from other sources; information on the terms required for the referral’s or participant’s monitoring contract, the referral’s or participant’s progress or inability to progress, or the referral’s or participant’s discharge or termination; information supporting the conclusion of material noncompliance; or any other information required by law. The consultant must disclose to the department, upon the department’s request, whether an applicant for a multistate license under s. 464.0095 is participating in a treatment program and must report to the department when a nurse holding a multistate license under s. 464.0095 enters a treatment program. A nurse holding a multistate license pursuant to s. 464.0095 must report to the department within 2 business days after entering a treatment program pursuant to this section. If a consultant discloses information to the department in accordance with this chapter, a referral or participant, or his or her legal representative, may obtain a complete copy of the consultant’s file from the consultant or the department under s. 456.073. (18) (a) The consultant may contract with a school or program to provide impaired practitioner program services to a student enrolled for the purpose of preparing for licensure as a health care practitioner as defined in this chapter or as a veterinarian under chapter 474 if the student has or is suspected of having an impairment. The department is not responsible for paying for the care provided by approved treatment providers or approved treatment programs or for the services provided by a consultant to a student. (b) A medical school accredited by the Liaison Accreditation, or another school providing for the education of students enrolled in preparation for licensure as a health care practitioner as defined in this chapter, or a veterinarian under chapter 474, which is governed by accreditation standards requiring notice and the provision of due process procedures to students, is not liable in any civil action for referring a student to the consultant retained by the department or for disciplinary actions that adversely affect the status of a student Committee on Medical Education or the Commission on Osteopathic College
when the disciplinary actions are instituted in reasonable reliance on the recommendations, reports, or conclusions provided by such consultant, if the school, in referring the student or taking disciplinary action, adheres to the due process procedures adopted by the applicable accreditation entities and if the school committed no intentional fraud in carrying out the provisions of this section.
History.—s. 38, ch. 92-149; s. 1, ch. 95-139; s. 310, ch. 96-406; s. 1085, ch. 97-103; s. 3, ch. 97-209; s. 94, ch. 97-261; s. 2, ch. 98-130; s. 94, ch. 2000-160; ss. 29, 117, ch. 2000-318; s. 67, ch. 2008-6; s. 1, ch. 2008-63; s. 2, ch. 2013-130; s. 1, ch. 2013-166; s. 2, ch. 2016- 139; ss. 1, 2, ch. 2017-41; s. 93, ch. 2018-24; s. 59, ch. 2020-156; s. 4, ch. 2022-63; s. 102, ch. 2023-8; s. 3, ch. 2023-140. Note.—Former s. 455.261; s. 455.707. applicable, a brief factual statement, the sections of the law allegedly violated, and the penalty imposed. The citation must clearly state that the subject may choose, in lieu of accepting the citation, to follow the procedure under s. 456.073. If the subject disputes the matter in
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