Senate Bill 230 (2023) — Health care practitioner titles and abbreviations
SB 230
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 230 By Senator Harrell 31-00299B-23 2023230__ Page 1 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to health care practitioner titles and 2 abbreviations; creating s. 456.0393, F.S.; defining 3 the terms “advertisement” and “deceptive or misleading 4 terms or false representation”; specifying which 5 titles and abbreviations health care practitioners may 6 use in their advertisements, communications, and 7 personal identification; requiring health care 8 practitioners to disclose specified information and 9 use only authorized titles and abbreviations in their 10 advertisements; prohibiting health care practitioners 11 from using deceptive or misleading terms or false 12 representations in their advertisements; requiring 13 health care practitioners who treat patients in person 14 to wear a badge or clothing that clearly discloses 15 specified information; requiring certain health care 16 practitioners to prominently display a copy of their 17 license in a conspicuous area of their practices; 18 requiring that the copy of the license be a specified 19 size; providing for denial of licensure and 20 disciplinary action; requiring certain boards, and the 21 Department of Health when there is no board, to adopt 22 rules; providing an effective date. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26
Section
Section 456.0393, Florida Statutes, is created 27 to read: 28 456.0393 Health care practitioner titles and abbreviations; 29
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 230 31-00299B-23 2023230__ Page 2 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. advertisements, communications, and personal identification.— 30
(1) As used in this section, the term: 31 (a) “Advertisement” means any communication, printed, 32 electronic, or oral, that names a health care practitioner and 33 the practice, profession, or institution in which the 34 practitioner is employed, volunteers, or otherwise provides 35 health care services.
The term includes business cards, 36 identification badges, letterhead, patient brochures, e-mails, 37 Internet websites or platforms, audio and video communications, 38 text messages, and any other form of communication. 39 (b) “Deceptive or misleading terms or false representation” 40 means the use of titles, terms, or other words that misstate, 41 falsely describe, falsely hold out, or falsely detail the health 42 care practitioner’s professional skills, training, expertise, 43 education, board certification, or licensure, and includes the 44 misappropriation of medical titles and medical specialty titles 45 by nonphysicians. 46
(2) Health care practitioners may use titles and 47 abbreviations in their advertisements, communications, and 48 personal identification, only as follows: 49 (
a) Physicians licensed under
chapter 458 or
chapter 459 50 may use any of the following titles and abbreviations only as 51 applicable to their license, specialties, and certifications: 52 “M.D.,” “D.O.,” “doctor,” “doctor of medicine,” “medical 53 doctor,” “doctor of osteopathic medicine,” “physician,” 54 “surgeon,” “general surgeon,” “neurosurgeon,” “orthopedic 55 surgeon,” “medical resident,” “resident physician,” “medical 56 intern,” “anesthesiologist,” “cardiologist,” “dermatologist,” 57 “endocrinologist,” “gastroenterologist,” “general practitioner,” 58
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 230 31-00299B-23 2023230__ Page 3 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. “gynecologist,” “hematologist,” “hospitalist,” “intensivist,” 59 “internist,” “interventional pain medicine physician,” 60 “laryngologist,” “nephrologist,” “neurologist,” “obstetrician,” 61 “oncologist,” “ophthalmologist,” “orthopedic surgeon,” 62 “orthopedist,” “osteopath,” “otologist,” “otolaryngologist,” 63 “otorhinolaryngologist,” “pathologist,” “pediatrician,” “primary 64 care physician,” “proctologist,” “psychiatrist,” “radiologist,” 65 “rheumatologist,” “rhinologist,” and “urologist,” or any other 66 title, word, abbreviation, description of services, or 67 designation, alone or in combination with any other title, to 68 indicate or induce others to believe that he or she is licensed 69 to practice medicine. 70 1.
Chiropractic physicians licensed under
chapter 460 may 71 use the titles “chiropractic physician” and “doctor of 72 chiropractic medicine” and may use the abbreviation “D.C.” A 73 chiropractic physician who has attained diplomate status in a 74 chiropractic specialty area recognized by the American 75 Chiropractic Association, the International Chiropractic 76 Association, or the International Academy of Clinical Neurology 77 before July 1, 2025, may use the applicable titles in this 78 paragraph in conjunction with his or her name and title to 79 reflect such specialty area. 80 2. Podiatric physicians licensed under
chapter 461 may use 81 any of the following titles and abbreviations only as applicable 82 to their license, specialties, and certifications: “podiatric 83 physician,” “doctor of podiatric medicine,” “D.P.M.,” 84 “podiatrist,” “podiatric surgeon,” “Fellow in the American 85 College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons,” and “F.A.C.F.A.S.” 86 3. Dentists licensed under
chapter 466 may use any of the 87
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 230 31-00299B-23 2023230__ Page 4 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. following titles and abbreviations only as applicable to their 88 license, specialties, and certifications: “doctor of medicine in 89 dentistry,” “doctor of dental medicine,” “D.M.D.,” “doctor of 90 dental surgery,” “D.D.S.,” “oral and maxillofacial surgeon,” 91 “O.M.S.,” “periodontist,” “prosthodontist,” “endodontist,” 92 “pediatric dentist,” “orthodontist,” “oral pathologist,” and 93 “oral radiologist.” A dentist who has completed a dental 94 anesthesiology residency recognized by the American Dental Board 95 of Anesthesiology before July 1, 2025, may use the applicable 96 titles in this paragraph in conjunction with his or her name and 97 title to reflect such residency training. 98 (
b) Registered nurses licensed under
part I of
chapter 464 99 may use only the title “registered nurse” and the abbreviation 100 “R.N.” 101 (
c) Licensed practical nurses licensed under
part I of 102
chapter 464 may use only the title “licensed practical nurse” 103 and the abbreviation “L.P.N.” 104 (
d) Advanced practice registered nurses licensed under
part 105 I of
chapter 464 may use only the title “advanced practice 106 registered nurse” or abbreviation “A.P.R.N.” and the following 107 role titles and abbreviations, as applicable: 108 1. “Certified registered nurse anesthetist,” “nurse 109 anesthetist,” and “C.R.N.A.” 110 2. “Clinical nurse specialist” and “C.N.S.” 111 3. “Certified nurse practitioner” and “C.N.P.” 112 4. “Certified nurse midwife” and “C.N.M.” 113 5. “Certified psychiatric nurse,” “psychiatric mental 114 health advanced practice nurse,” and “C.P.N.” 115 6. “Autonomous advanced practice registered nurse” and “A.-116
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 230 31-00299B-23 2023230__ Page 5 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A.P.R.N.” 117 (
e) Physician assistants licensed under
chapter 458 or 118
chapter 459 may use only the title “physician assistant” and the 119 abbreviations “P.A.” or “P.A.-C.” 120 (
f) Anesthesiologist assistants licensed under
chapter 458 121 or
chapter 459 may use only the titles “anesthesiologist 122 assistant” or “certified anesthesiologist assistant” and the 123 abbreviation “C.A.A.” 124 (
g) All other health care practitioners may use only the 125 titles and abbreviations authorized by their respective practice 126 acts and this paragraph. Any nonphysician health care 127 practitioner who has obtained a doctoral degree under the 128 profession governed by the applicable practice act may use the 129 letter “D.” in front of the abbreviations authorized by the 130 health care practitioner’s respective practice act.
However, a 131 nonphysician health care practitioner may not use the title 132 “doctor” in any form of advertisement, telehealth interaction, 133 text message, or verbal communication without clearly 134 identifying himself or herself as a “doctor” of a specific 135 profession, citing the applicable
chapter under which the health 136 care practitioner is licensed. 137 (3)(
a) Any advertisement by a health care practitioner must 138 disclose the type of license under which the health care 139 practitioner is authorized to provide services and must use only 140 those titles and abbreviations authorized under subsection (2). 141 Only physicians may include titles and abbreviations or medical 142 specialties in their advertisements, as specified in paragraph 143 (2)(a). 144 (
b) Health care practitioners may not use deceptive or 145
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 230 31-00299B-23 2023230__ Page 6 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. misleading terms or false representation in their 146 advertisements. 147
(4) Health care practitioners who treat patients in person 148 must wear a name badge or other form of identification on their 149 clothing that clearly discloses the practitioner’s name, the 150 practitioner’s staff position, if applicable, and the type of 151 license, registration, or certification held by the 152 practitioner. Any title or abbreviation used in such 153 identification must be consistent with the requirements of this 154 section. 155
(5) If a health care practitioner treats patients in a 156 setting other than a health care facility licensed under
chapter 157 395 or
chapter 400, the health care practitioner must 158 prominently display a copy of his or her license in a 159 conspicuous area of the practice so that it is easily visible to 160 patients. The copy of the license must be no smaller than the 161 original license. 162
(6) Any violation of this
section constitutes grounds for 163 denial of a license or disciplinary action as specified in the 164 health care practitioner’s respective practice act and as 165 specified in s. 456.072(2). 166
(7) Each board, or the department where there is no board, 167 shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to 168 implement this section. 169