HB 21 & HB 549: Changes to Prescribing, Reporting, and Dosing of Opioids

HB 21 provides new rules for prescribing opioids and went into effect July 1, 2018. The FDA has a summary  here, as well as an article on the limits of prescribing controlled substances  here. You also can find the Florida Medical Association's (FMA) summary  here. In addition, the Florida Department of Health has compiled FAQs here.

HB 549 was signed into law by the governor and became effective on July 1, 2019. This legislation requires all dentists, regardless of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) licensing, to take a two-hour continuing education (CE) course on the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances during licensure renewal. Last year, legislation passed that required all health care practitioners who have a DEA license to take CE for the prescribing of controlled substances from a statewide association of physicians, unless the health care practitioners’ practice act included the CE requirement, which wasn’t the case for dentists. With the passage of HB 549, which was supported by the Florida Dental Association (FDA), dentists will now be able to receive CE for controlled substances from dentists and dental-affiliated groups certified to offer such course, which includes the FDA and its districts/affiliates. Dentists who have already taken the two-hour CE course based on having a DEA license will not be required to take another CE course on the prescribing of controlled substances.

The FDA recommends you reach out to your local component to see if they are offering this mandatory two-hour course. You may also find a list of Florida Board of Dentistry approved courses at CEBroker. 

New legislation under HB 549 requires all dentists, regardless of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) licensing, to take a two-hour continuing education (CE) course on the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances during licensure renewal.

Dentists who already took the mandatory two-hour continuing education (CE) course based on their Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license and HB 21 will not be required to take the course again.

Click here to register for E-FORCSE.

A how-to guide can be found  here, and a more in-depth tutorial can be found here. Watch how easy it was for FDA President Dr. Jolene Paramore to register here.

Click  here for information on managing delegates in E-FORCSE.

Click  here for a tutorial on how a designee can run a patient report.

Click  here for a tutorial on running a bulk patient search.

Please call 877.719.3120 for technical assistance. If you have questions specific to state policy, you may contact E-FORCSE 850.245.4797 or e-forcse@flhealth.gov.

If you need additional assistance, you also may contact the Florida Dental Association Chief Legal Officer Casey Stoutamire, Esq. at 850.350.7202 or cstoutamire@floridadental.org, or Chief Legislative Officer Joe Anne Hart at 850.350.7205 or jahart@floridadental.org.