Help Protect Patients in Florida
The Facts on Florida House Bill 607 and Florida Senate Bill 1676
Special interest groups are moving aggressively to pass legislation that would put Florida’s patients at risk and significantly compromise healthcare quality. Under the guise of increasing access to care, HB 607 and SB 1676 would endanger patients by allowing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) to practice beyond the scope of their education and training — without any supervision by licensed physicians.
As the evidence shows, nurse practitioners and PAs simply are not interchangeable with physicians:
- Physicians complete 4 years of medical school, plus 3 or more years of post-graduate training — 21,700 total training hours and at least 15,000 clinical training hours.
- APRNs spend 1.5 to 3 years in nursing programs and are not required to do any post-graduate training — 5,350 total training hours, and 500 to 1,500 clinical training hours.
While APRNs and PAs play valuable roles, patients are best served by care that is physician-led and team-based. The Florida Patient Protection Coalition (FPCC), a collaborative effort by more than 50 medical professional organizations, believes HB 607 would not only expose patients to unnecessary harm but also further fragment healthcare delivery in our state.
All Floridians deserve access to high-quality patient care delivered by healthcare professionals with the appropriate level of education and training. Please join us in protecting Florida’s patients by contacting your state House representative and voicing your opposition to HB 607. Your feedback can help us stop this dangerous bill from becoming law while sending a strong message in support of physician-led, team-based care in the Sunshine State.
*States in blue are the 20 states who DO NOT allow APRNs and PAs to practice independently, which represents 70% of the U.S. population.
