Senate Bill 1040 (2024) — Veterinary practices
SB 1040
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1040 By Senator Bradley 6-01681A-24 20241040__ Page 1 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to veterinary practices; creating s. 2 474.2021, F.S.; providing a
short title; authorizing 3 licensed veterinarians to practice veterinary 4 telehealth in accordance with specified criteria; 5 defining the term “telehealth”; specifying the powers 6 of the Board of Veterinary Medicine related to the 7 practice of telehealth; specifying the conditions 8 under which a veterinarian may practice veterinary 9 telehealth; specifying the drugs a veterinarian 10 practicing telehealth may not provide under specified 11 circumstances; providing specific authorizations for 12 cases where a patient is a food-producing species; 13 amending s. 474.2165, F.S.; conforming a provision to 14 changes made by the act; amending s. 828.30, F.S.; 15 authorizing certain persons to administer rabies 16 vaccinations to certain animals under indirect 17 supervision of a veterinarian; providing that a 18 supervising veterinarian assumes responsibility for 19 specified people who provide vaccinations; defining 20 the term “indirect supervision”; amending ss. 474.203, 21 767.16, and 828.29, F.S.; conforming provisions to 22 changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26
Section
Section 474.2021, Florida Statutes, is created 27 to read: 28 474.2021 Veterinary telehealth.— 29
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(1) This
section may be cited as the “Providing Equity in 30 Telehealth Services Act.” 31
(2) A veterinarian who holds a current license to practice 32 veterinary medicine in this state may practice veterinary 33 telehealth. For purposes of this section, the term “telehealth” 34 has the same meaning as in s. 456.47(1). 35
(3) The board has jurisdiction over a veterinarian 36 practicing veterinary telehealth, regardless of where the 37 veterinarian’s physical office is located. The practice of 38 veterinary medicine is deemed to occur at the premises where the 39 patient is located at the time the veterinarian practices 40 veterinary telehealth. 41
(4) A veterinarian practicing veterinary telehealth: 42 (
a) May not engage in the practice of veterinary telehealth 43 unless it is within the context of a veterinarian/client/patient 44 relationship; 45 (
b) Must practice in a manner consistent with his or her 46 scope of practice and the prevailing professional standard of 47 practice for a veterinarian who provides in-person veterinary 48 services to patients in this state; 49 (
c) May use telehealth to perform a patient evaluation. If 50 a veterinarian practicing telehealth conducts a patient 51 evaluation sufficient to diagnose and treat the patient, the 52 veterinarian is not required to research a patient’s medical 53 history or conduct a physical examination of the patient before 54 using veterinary telehealth to provide a veterinary health care 55 service to the patient; and 56 (
d) Must prescribe all drugs and medications in accordance 57 with all federal and state laws. A veterinarian practicing 58
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1040 6-01681A-24 20241040__ Page 3 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. veterinary telehealth may order, prescribe, or make available 59 medicinal drugs or drugs as defined in s. 465.003. A 60 veterinarian may not use telehealth to prescribe a controlled 61 substance listed in
Schedule II of s. 893.03. 62
(5) A veterinarian personally acquainted with the caring 63 and keeping of an animal or group of animals on food-producing 64 animal operations on land classified as agricultural pursuant to 65 s. 193.461 who has recently seen the animal or group of animals 66 or has made medically appropriate and timely visits to the 67 premises where the animal or group of animals is kept may 68 practice veterinary telehealth for animals on such operations. 69
Section 2. Subsection (1) of
section 474.2165, Florida 70 Statutes, is amended to read: 71 474.2165 Ownership and control of veterinary medical 72 patient records; report or copies of records to be furnished.— 73
(1) As used in this section, the term “records owner” means 74 any veterinarian who generates a medical record after making an 75 a physical examination of, or administering treatment or 76 dispensing legend drugs to, any patient; any veterinarian to 77 whom records are transferred by a previous records owner; or any 78 veterinarian’s employer, provided the employment contract or 79 agreement between the employer and the veterinarian designates 80 the employer as the records owner. 81
Section 3. Subsections (1) and (3) of
section 828.30, 82 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 83 828.30 Rabies vaccination of dogs, cats, and ferrets.— 84 (1)(
a) All dogs, cats, and ferrets 4 months of age or older 85 must be vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian or a person 86 authorized under paragraph (
b) against rabies with a vaccine 87
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1040 6-01681A-24 20241040__ Page 4 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. that is licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture 88 for use in those species. 89 (
b) Acting under the indirect supervision of a 90 veterinarian, an employee, an agent, or a contractor of a county 91 or municipal animal control authority or sheriff may vaccinate 92 against rabies dogs, cats, and ferrets in the custody of an 93 animal control authority or a sheriff that will be transferred, 94 rescued, fostered, adopted, or reclaimed by the owner. The 95 supervising veterinarian assumes responsibility for any person 96 vaccinating animals at his or her direction or under his or her 97 direct or indirect supervision.
As used in this paragraph, the 98 term “indirect supervision” means that the supervising 99 veterinarian is required to be available for consultation 100 through telecommunications but is not required to be physically 101 present during such consultation. 102 (
c) The owner of every dog, cat, and ferret shall have the 103 animal revaccinated 12 months after the initial vaccination. 104 Thereafter, the interval between vaccinations shall conform to 105 the vaccine manufacturer’s directions. The cost of vaccination 106 must be borne by the animal’s owner. Evidence of circulating 107 rabies virus neutralizing antibodies may shall not be used as a 108 substitute for current vaccination in managing rabies exposure 109 or determining the need for booster vaccinations. 110
(3) Upon vaccination against rabies, the licensed 111 veterinarian shall provide the animal’s owner and the animal 112 control authority with a rabies vaccination certificate. Each 113 animal control authority and veterinarian shall use the “Rabies 114 Vaccination Certificate” of the National Association of State 115 Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) or an equivalent form 116
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1040 6-01681A-24 20241040__ Page 5 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. approved by the local government that contains all the 117 information required by the NASPHV Rabies Vaccination 118 Certificate. The veterinarian who administers the rabies 119 vaccination or who supervises the administration of the rabies 120 vaccination as provided in paragraph (1)(
b) vaccine to an animal 121 as authorized required under this
section may affix his or her 122 signature stamp in lieu of an actual signature. 123
Section 4. Paragraph (
a) of subsection (5) of
section 124 474.203, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 125 474.203 Exemptions.—This
chapter does not apply to: 126 (5)(
a) Any person, or the person’s regular employee, 127 administering to the ills or injuries of her or his own animals, 128 including, but not limited to, castration, spaying, and 129 dehorning of herd animals, unless title is transferred or 130 employment provided for the purpose of circumventing this law. 131 This exemption does not apply to any person licensed as a 132 veterinarian in another state or foreign jurisdiction and 133 practicing temporarily in this state.
However, except as 134 provided in s. 828.30, only a veterinarian may immunize or treat 135 an animal for diseases that are communicable to humans and that 136 are of public health significance. 137 138 For the purposes of chapters 465 and 893, persons exempt 139 pursuant to subsection (1), subsection (2), or subsection (4) 140 are deemed to be duly licensed practitioners authorized by the 141 laws of this state to prescribe drugs or medicinal supplies. 142
Section 5. Subsection (2) of
section 767.16, Florida 143 Statutes, is amended to read: 144 767.16 Police canine or service dog; exemption.— 145
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(2) Any dog used as a service dog for blind, hearing 146 impaired, or disabled persons that bites another animal or a 147 human is exempt from any quarantine requirement following such 148 bite if the dog has a current rabies vaccination that was 149 administered as provided in s. 828.30 by a licensed 150 veterinarian. 151
Section 6. Paragraph (
b) of subsection (1) and paragraph 152 (
b) of subsection (2) of
section 828.29, Florida Statutes, are 153 amended to read: 154 828.29 Dogs and cats transported or offered for sale; 155 health requirements; consumer guarantee.— 156 (1) 157 (
b) For each dog offered for sale within the state, the 158 tests, vaccines, and anthelmintics required by this
section must 159 be administered by or under the direction of a veterinarian, 160 licensed by the state and accredited by the United States 161 Department of Agriculture, who issues the official certificate 162 of veterinary inspection.
The tests, vaccines, and anthelmintics 163 must be administered before the dog is offered for sale in the 164 state, unless the licensed, accredited veterinarian certifies on 165 the official certificate of veterinary inspection that to 166 inoculate or deworm the dog is not in the best medical interest 167 of the dog, in which case the vaccine or anthelmintic may not be 168 administered to that particular dog. Each dog must receive 169 vaccines and anthelmintics against the following diseases and 170 internal parasites: 171 1. Canine distemper. 172 2. Leptospirosis. 173 3.
Bordetella (by intranasal inoculation or by an 174
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1040 6-01681A-24 20241040__ Page 7 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. alternative method of administration if deemed necessary by the 175 attending veterinarian and noted on the health certificate, 176 which must be administered in this state once before sale). 177 4. Parainfluenza. 178 5. Hepatitis. 179 6. Canine parvo. 180 7. Rabies, provided the dog is over 3 months of age and the 181 inoculation is administered as provided in s. 828.30 by a 182 licensed veterinarian. 183 8. Roundworms. 184 9. Hookworms. 185 186 If the dog is under 4 months of age, the tests, vaccines, and 187 anthelmintics required by this
section must be administered no 188 more than 21 days before sale within the state. If the dog is 4 189 months of age or older, the tests, vaccines, and anthelmintics 190 required by this
section must be administered at or after 3 191 months of age, but no more than 1 year before sale within the 192 state. 193 (2) 194 (
b) For each cat offered for sale within the state, the 195 tests, vaccines, and anthelmintics required by this
section must 196 be administered by or under the direction of a veterinarian, 197 licensed by the state and accredited by the United States 198 Department of Agriculture, who issues the official certificate 199 of veterinary inspection. The tests, vaccines, and anthelmintics 200 must be administered before the cat is offered for sale in the 201 state, unless the licensed, accredited veterinarian certifies on 202 the official certificate of veterinary inspection that to 203
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1040 6-01681A-24 20241040__ Page 8 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. inoculate or deworm the cat is not in the best medical interest 204 of the cat, in which case the vaccine or anthelmintic may not be 205 administered to that particular cat. Each cat must receive 206 vaccines and anthelmintics against the following diseases and 207 internal parasites: 208 1. Panleukopenia. 209 2. Feline viral rhinotracheitis. 210 3. Calici virus. 211 4.
Rabies, if the cat is over 3 months of age and the 212 inoculation is administered as provided in s. 828.30 by a 213 licensed veterinarian. 214 5. Hookworms. 215 6. Roundworms. 216 217 If the cat is under 4 months of age, the tests, vaccines, and 218 anthelmintics required by this
section must be administered no 219 more than 21 days before sale within the state. If the cat is 4 220 months of age or older, the tests, vaccines, and anthelmintics 221 required by this
section must be administered at or after 3 222 months of age, but no more than 1 year before sale within the 223 state. 224