Florida legislators are weighing a proposal that would expand background checks to all healthcare workers, the Florida Phoenix reported Jan. 17.
Some healthcare workers such as physicians and nurses are required to undergo criminal background checks to get their licenses. The new bill, HB 975 and SB 1008, would require all healthcare workers, including dietitians, dentists and optometrists, to be background checked before licensure.
As part of the screening process, workers would submit their fingerprints to the state law enforcement department and have them processed by the FBI. License applicants would also foot the bill for the service, which costs $50.75, according to the report.
The bill would apply retroactively, meaning all those practicing in the field would need to be screened before July 2025.
In the House, only one representative — a family medicine physician — voted against the proposal.
"It's probably the most humiliating process I've ever been involved in as a medical doctor. I got into this field to help people, not to have my fingerprints loaded up into a database," Rep. Joel Rudman, MD, said during the House Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee meeting. "Just because we live in a state where physicians have to be submitted to that kind of treatment, I would never ever want to impose that kind of embarrassment on my dentist, on my optometrist, on my physical therapist."