SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Dear NP Colleague:

Last week, we invited you to participate in an online petition calling for provider-neutral language in direct-to-consumer advertisements. To date, over 6,300 individuals have signed the petition. As we wrote last week, AANP continues to work with the pharmaceutical and medical device industry to encourage provider-neutral language in all direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads. This petition was created to further demonstrate the importance of this issue to the NP discipline. If you have not yet done so, please take a few minutes and click here to read and sign the petition.

Please forward this message to your NP colleagues, as well as others you believe will support this initiative. We will post details on the progress of the petition on our Web site (www.aanp.org) over the next few weeks.

If you have any difficulties with the link, please copy and paste the following URL into your browser: http://66.219.50.185/petition

Thank you for taking the time to support this important issue.

Sincerely,

Mona Counts, PhD, CRNP, FNAP, FAANP \President

Judith Dempster, DNSc, FNP, FAANP\Executive Director

 I.   *Re: Nursing licenses expiring on July 31*
The Division of Medical Quality Assurance is now sending renewal reminders
on bright yellow postcards 90 days before your renewal is due. Please be on
the lookout for this postcard. The card will provide the amount of the
renewal, the deadline to renew and instructions for renewing. The card will
direct you to log into online services and select to either renew on-line or
to print off your renewal notice and mail it in with a cashier's check or
money order. Renewing online is as simple as going to
www.FLHealthsource.com <http://www.flhealthsource.com/>, clicking on the
"Renew My License" button on the homepage, and following the instructions.
If you do not know your User ID and Password, the system will assist you in
logging in after you answer several specific validation questions.

If you have any problems using online renewal or other questions about your
renewal, please contact the division's customer contact center at
850-488-0595 and choose option 3.

II. ***Subject: ATTN: Removal of Levothyroxine Sodium from the Florida Negative Drug Formulary
Importance: High

Associations:
the Board of Pharmacy has requested that I forward the followig to you to share with your members and interested parties....
On January 28, 2008, the Division of Administrative Hearings entered a summary final order in favor of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in case number 07-3704RX, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. vs. Department of Health, Board of Medicine and Board of Pharmacy and Abbott Laboratories to remove Levothyroxine Sodium from the Florida Negative Drug Formulary. As a result of this summary final order, the Board of Pharmacy voted, at its April 8-9, 2008 board meeting, to remove Levothyroxine Sodium from the Florida Negative Drug Formulary.
Pursuant to section 465.025(6)(b), Florida Statutes (F.S.), the Board of Pharmacy sent the attached notice to the manager of the prescription department for each permitted community pharmacy located in this state and each registered nonresident pharmacy. This email will serve as notification to each board that regulates practitioners licensed by the laws of the state to prescribe drugs that Levothyroxine Sodium has been removed from the Florida Negative Drug Formulary. Pursuant to section 465.025(6)(b), F.S., each board that regulates practitioners licensed by the laws of the state to prescribe drugs must incorporate the Florida Negative Drug Formulary into its rules.
Please contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850) 245-4292 or by email at MQA_Pharmacy@doh.state.fl.us should you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter.

Best Regards,
Erika L. Lilja-
Program Operations Administrator
Board of Pharmacy

III. ARNPs may provide/obtain informed consent per Fla. Stat. 766.103:

766.103 Florida Medical Consent Law.--
(1) This section shall be known and cited as the "Florida Medical Consent Law."
(2) In any medical treatment activity not covered by s. 768.13, entitled the "Good Samaritan Act," this act shall govern.
(3) No recovery shall be allowed in any court in this state against any physician licensed under chapter 458, osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460, podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461, dentist licensed under chapter 466, advanced registered nurse practitioner certified under s. 464.012, or physician assistant licensed under s. 458.347 or s. 459.022 in an action brought for treating, examining, or operating on a patient without his or her informed consent when:
(a)1. The action of the physician, osteopathic physician, chiropractic physician, podiatric physician, dentist, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant in obtaining the consent of the patient or another person authorized to give consent for the patient was in accordance with an accepted standard of medical practice among members of the medical profession with similar training and experience in the same or similar medical community as that of the person treating, examining, or operating on the patient for whom the consent is obtained; and
2. A reasonable individual, from the information provided by the physician, osteopathic physician, chiropractic physician, podiatric physician, dentist, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, under the circumstances, would have a general understanding of the procedure, the medically acceptable alternative procedures or treatments, and the substantial risks and hazards inherent in the proposed treatment or procedures, which are recognized among other physicians, osteopathic physicians, chiropractic physicians, podiatric physicians, or dentists in the same or similar community who perform similar treatments or procedures; or
(b) The patient would reasonably, under all the surrounding circumstances, have undergone such treatment or procedure had he or she been advised by the physician, osteopathic physician, chiropractic physician, podiatric physician, dentist, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a).
(4)(a) A consent which is evidenced in writing and meets the requirements of subsection (3) shall, if validly signed by the patient or another authorized person, raise a rebuttable presumption of a valid consent.
(b) A valid signature is one which is given by a person who under all the surrounding circumstances is mentally and physically competent to give consent.