HB 431, presented during the 2021 Legislative Session, was signed by the Governor and took effect on July 1, 2021. The bill amended sections 458.347 and 459.022, Florida Statutes, regarding the practice of physician assistants (PAs) under the supervision of allopathic and osteopathic physicians, respectively.
The bill:

• Increases the number of PAs a physician may supervise from four to 10;
• Removes the requirement that a PA notify a patient of the right to see a physician prior to the PA prescribing or dispensing a prescription;
• Authorizes a PA to procure medications and medical devices, with exceptions;
• Repeals authorization for the Department of Health (Department) to issue prescriber numbers to PAs and eliminates the need for PA prescriber numbers on prescriptions;
• Authorizes a PA under the supervision of certain practitioners to prescribe up to a 14-day supply of Schedule II psychotropic drugs to minors;
• Except for a physician certification, authorizes a PA to authenticate any document if the document may be authenticated by a physician;
• Authorizes a PA to supervise medical assistants;
• Amends provisions related to program approval for the education and training of PAs and allows trainees to perform medical services rendered within the scope of an approved program;
• Amends the licensure requirements for PAs based on the date a PA graduated from an approved program as defined in the bill by specifying which PA education and training programs are approved for PA licensure;
• Authorizes a PA to satisfy the continuing education requirement on controlled substance prescribing through a designated course;
• Removes the requirement that PA licensure applicants seeking prescribing authority provide course transcripts;
• Removes the requirement for a PA to notify the Department in writing within 30 days of employment or after any change in supervising physician, which eliminates the need for the supervision data form;
• Removes the requirement for a PA to notify the Board of Medicine/Board of Osteopathic Medicine of his or her prescribing supervising physician(s) or to complete the Application for Changes to the Prescribing License;
• Requires supervising physicians to report to the Board of Medicine/Board of Osteopathic Medicine the delegation of prescribing authority to a PA, which may be done using the form located at https://flboardofmedicine.gov/forms/pa-prescribing-notification.pdf;
• Maintains the requirement that supervising physicians report to the Board of Medicine/Board of Osteopathic Medicine the delegation of dispensing authority to a PA, which must be done using the form located at https://flboardofmedicine.gov/forms/pa-disp-form.pdf.
• Requires the revision of rules related to the formulary and the application for licensure, which will be amended by the Physician Assistant Council and the Board of Medicine.

Source; Florida Board of Medicine