Florida Becomes Final State to Authorize NP Controlled Substance Authority [FL]

"You may have heard before that only one state in the nation still has not updated their laws to authorize NPs to prescribe controlled substances.

Well, I'm happy to report that this is no longer true! Moments ago, Florida Governor Rick Scott just signed into law HB 423, which makes Florida the 50th and last state in the nation to authorize NPs to prescribe controlled substances!

While this bill does unfortunately limit NPs' ability to prescribe and practice to the full extent of their education and training and maintain supervisory agreement requirements, this is a significant step forward for Florida and for our nation as a whole.

We know that you'll look forward to Florida and all our states advancing toward the goal of Full Practice Authority in all 50 states.

To help keep up the progress, we encourage you to connect with one of the AANP NP Organization Members in your state to get involved and support legislative change in your state, and to make sure all of your NP friends and colleagues join AANP to help us continue to work on behalf of all of the nation's nurse practitioners.

Thank you for your membership and for your great work in patient care."

Sincerely,

Cindy Cooke, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP
President
American Association of Nurse Practitioners