Section 64B13-3.003 - Patient Records; Transfer or Death of Licensed Practitioner(1) The licensed practitioner must legibly sign the entry in his or her records for each patient encounter. If the practitioner maintains electronic patient records, the practitioner must manually sign or affix an electronic signature which can be generated by using either public key infrastructure or signature dynamics technology, and meets the following criteria:(a) The electronic signature is unique to the person using it;(b) The electronic signature is capable of verification;(c) The electronic signature is under the sole control of the person using it;(d) The electronic signature is linked to the record in such a manner that the electronic signature is invalidated if any data in the record are changed.(2) A licensed practitioner shall maintain full and independent responsibility and control over all records relating to his or her patients and his or her optometric practice. For the purposes of this rule, "maintain full and independent responsibility and control" means that the records shall be maintained in the licensed practitioner's office or solely in the possession of the licensed practitioner, and that the licensed practitioner shall not share, delegate, or relinquish either possession of the records or his or her responsibility or control over those records with or to any entity which is not itself a licensed practitioner.(3) The records relating to the patients of a multidisciplinary group of licensed health care professionals as provided in section 463.014(1)(a), F.S., or relating to the patients of a partnership or professional association as provided in section 463.014(1)(b), F.S., may be maintained by the group practice, partnership, or professional association on behalf of all licensed practitioners employed by the group practice, partnership, or professional association.(4) For the purposes of this rule, "entity which itself is not a licensed practitioner" shall refer to any corporation, lay body, organization, individual, or commercial or mercantile establishment which is not a licensed practitioner or which is not comprised solely of licensed health care professionals, the primary objective of whom is the diagnosis and treatment of the human body.(5) For the purposes of this rule, "commercial or mercantile establishment" shall include an establishment in which the practice of opticianry is conducted pursuant to chapter 484, part I, Florida Statutes, and an establishment in which optical goods are sold.(6) A licensed practitioner shall keep patient records for a period of at least five years after the last entry. Upon the discontinuance of his or her practice, the licensed practitioner shall either transfer all patient records which are less than five years old to an eye care practitioner licensed pursuant to chapter 463, 458, or 459, F.S., where they may be obtained by patients, or he or she shall keep them in his or her possession for at least five years and make them available to be obtained by patients.(7) A licensed practitioner who retires or otherwise discontinues his or her practice shall cause to be published in the newspaper of greatest general circulation in each county where the licensed practitioner practiced, a notice indicating to his or her patients that the licensed practitioner's patient records are available from a specified eye care practitioner licensed pursuant to chapter 458, 459, or 463, F.S., at a certain location. The notice shall be published once during each week for four (4) consecutive weeks. A copy of the published notice shall be delivered to the Board office for filing.(8)(a) The executor, administrator, personal representative, or survivor of a deceased licensed practitioner shall retain patient records concerning any patient of the deceased licensed practitioner for at least five years from the date of death of the licensed practitioner.(b) Within one (1) month from the date of death of the licensed practitioner, the executor, administrator, personal representative, or survivor of the deceased licensed practitioner shall cause to be published in the newspaper of greatest general circulation in each county where the licensed practitioner practiced, a notice indicating to the patients of the deceased licensed practitioner the location at which whose patients may obtain their patient records. The notice shall be published once during each week for four (4) consecutive weeks. A copy of the published notice shall be delivered to the Board office for filing.Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 64B13-3.003
Rulemaking Authority 456.058, 463.005(1)(a), (d) FS. Law Implemented 456.057, 456.058, 463.005(1)(a), (d) FS.
New 11-13-79, Amended 12-19-84, 4-8-85, Formerly 21Q-3.03, Amended 12-16-86, 7-11-88, Formerly 21Q-3.003, 61F8-3.003, Amended 2-14-96, Formerly 59V-3.003, Amended 3-29-98, 4-3-00, 1-2-02, 11-16-05, 1-31-08, Amended by Florida Register Volume 45, Number 162, August 20, 2019 effective 9/2/2019.New 11-13-79, Amended 12-19-84, 4-8-85, Formerly 21Q-3.03, Amended 12-16-86, 7-11-88, Formerly 21Q-3.003, 61F8-3.003, Amended 2-14-96, Formerly 59V-3.003, Amended 3-29-98, 4-3-00, 1-2-02, 11-16-05, 1-31-08, 9-2-19.