(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 456.073, the board, or the department when there is no board, shall adopt rules to designate which violations of the applicable professional practice act are appropriate for mediation. The board, or the department when there is no board, shall designate as mediation offenses those complaints where harm caused by the licensee:
(a) Is economic in nature except any act or omission involving intentional misconduct;
(b) Can be remedied by the licensee;
(c) Is not a standard of care violation involving any type of injury to a patient; or
(d) Does not result in an adverse incident.
(2) For the purposes of this section, an “adverse incident” means an event that results in:
(a) The death of a patient;
(b) Brain or spinal damage to a patient;
(c) The performance of a surgical procedure on the wrong patient;
(d) The performance of a wrong-site surgical procedure;
(e) The performance of a surgical procedure that is medically unnecessary or otherwise unrelated to the patient’s diagnosis or medical condition;
(f) The surgical repair of damage to a patient resulting from a planned surgical procedure, which damage is not a recognized specific risk as disclosed to the patient and documented through the informed-consent process;
(g) The performance of a procedure to remove unplanned foreign objects remaining from a surgical procedure; or
(h) The performance of any other surgical procedure that breached the standard of care.
(3) After the department determines a complaint is legally sufficient and the alleged violations are defined as mediation offenses, the department or any agent of the department may conduct informal mediation to resolve the complaint. If the complainant and the subject of the complaint agree to a resolution of a complaint within 14 days after contact by the mediator, the mediator shall notify the department of the terms of the resolution. The department or board shall take no further action unless the complainant and the subject each fail to record with the department an acknowledgment of satisfaction of the terms of mediation within 60 days of the mediator’s notification to the department. A successful mediation shall not constitute discipline. In the event the complainant and subject fail to reach settlement terms or to record the required acknowledgment, the department shall process the complaint according to the provisions of s. 456.073.
(4) Conduct or statements made during mediation are inadmissible in any proceeding pursuant to s. 456.073. Further, any information relating to the mediation of a case shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of s. 456.073.
(5) No licensee shall go through the mediation process more than three times without approval of the department. The department may consider the subject and dates of the earlier complaints in rendering its decision. Such decision shall not be considered a final agency action for purposes of chapter 120.
(6) Any board created on or after January 1, 1995, shall have 6 months to adopt rules designating which violations are appropriate for mediation, after which time the department shall have exclusive authority to adopt rules pursuant to this section. A board shall have continuing authority to amend its rules adopted pursuant to this section.
History.—s. 66, ch. 97-261; s. 96, ch. 2000-160; s. 22, ch. 2003-416.
Note.—Former s. 455.614.
Structure Florida Statutes
Title XXXII - Regulation of Professions and Occupations
Chapter 456 - Health Professions and Occupations: General Provisions
456.003 - Legislative Intent; Requirements.
456.004 - Department; Powers and Duties.
456.005 - Long-Range Policy Planning.
456.006 - Contacting Boards Through Department.
456.008 - Accountability and Liability of Board Members.
456.009 - Legal and Investigative Services.
456.011 - Boards; Organization; Meetings; Compensation and Travel Expenses.
456.012 - Board Rules; Final Agency Action; Challenges.
456.013 - Department; General Licensing Provisions.
456.0135 - General Background Screening Provisions.
456.016 - Use of Professional Testing Services.
456.018 - Penalty for Theft or Reproduction of an Examination.
456.019 - Restriction on Requirement of Citizenship.
456.022 - Foreign-Trained Professionals; Special Examination and License Provisions.
456.023 - Exemption for Certain Out-of-State or Foreign Professionals; Limited Practice Permitted.
456.0241 - Temporary Certificate for Active Duty Military Health Care Practitioners.
456.025 - Fees; Receipts; Disposition.
456.027 - Education; Accreditation.
456.029 - Education; Substituting Demonstration of Competency for Clock-Hour Requirements.
456.0301 - Requirement for Instruction on Controlled Substance Prescribing.
456.031 - Requirement for Instruction on Domestic Violence.
456.032 - Hepatitis B or HIV Carriers.
456.033 - Requirement for Instruction for Certain Licensees on HIV and Aids.
456.0341 - Requirements for Instruction on Human Trafficking.
456.036 - Licenses; Active and Inactive Status; Delinquency.
456.0361 - Compliance With Continuing Education Requirements.
456.038 - Renewal and Cancellation Notices.
456.039 - Designated Health Care Professionals; Information Required for Licensure.
456.0391 - Advanced Practice Registered Nurses; Information Required for Licensure.
456.0392 - Prescription Labeling.
456.041 - Practitioner Profile; Creation.
456.042 - Practitioner Profiles; Update.
456.043 - Practitioner Profiles; Data Storage.
456.044 - Practitioner Profiles; Rules; Workshops.
456.045 - Practitioner Profiles; Maintenance of Superseded Information.
456.046 - Practitioner Profiles; Confidentiality.
456.048 - Financial Responsibility Requirements for Certain Health Care Practitioners.
456.049 - Health Care Practitioners; Reports on Professional Liability Claims and Actions.
456.0495 - Reporting Adverse Incidents Occurring in Planned Out-of-Hospital Births.
456.052 - Disclosure of Financial Interest by Production.
456.054 - Kickbacks Prohibited.
456.055 - Chiropractic and Podiatric Health Care; Denial of Payment; Limitation.
456.056 - Treatment of Medicare Beneficiaries; Refusal, Emergencies, Consulting Physicians.
456.0575 - Duty to Notify Patients.
456.059 - Communications Confidential; Exceptions.
456.063 - Sexual Misconduct; Disqualification for License, Certificate, or Registration.
456.0635 - Health Care Fraud; Disqualification for License, Certificate, or Registration.
456.066 - Prosecution of Criminal Violations.
456.067 - Penalty for Giving False Information.
456.068 - Toll-Free Telephone Number for Reporting of Complaints.
456.069 - Authority to Inspect.
456.071 - Power to Administer Oaths, Take Depositions, and Issue Subpoenas.
456.072 - Grounds for Discipline; Penalties; Enforcement.
456.073 - Disciplinary Proceedings.
456.074 - Certain Health Care Practitioners; Immediate Suspension of License.
456.075 - Criminal Proceedings Against Licensees; Appearances by Department Representatives.
456.076 - Impaired Practitioner Programs.
456.077 - Authority to Issue Citations.
456.079 - Disciplinary Guidelines.
456.081 - Publication of Information.
456.082 - Disclosure of Confidential Information.
456.36 - Health Care Professionals; Exemption From Disqualification From Employment or Contracting.
456.38 - Practitioner Registry for Disasters and Emergencies.
456.41 - Complementary or Alternative Health Care Treatments.
456.42 - Written Prescriptions for Medicinal Drugs.
456.43 - Electronic Prescribing for Medicinal Drugs.
456.44 - Controlled Substance Prescribing.
456.47 - Use of Telehealth to Provide Services.