Florida Statutes 483.800 – Declaration of policy and statement of purpose
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 483.800
- Board: means the Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel. See Florida Statutes 483.803
- Clinical laboratory: means the physical location in which one or more of the following services are performed to provide information or materials for use in the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a disease or the identification or assessment of a medical or physical condition:(a) Clinical laboratory services, which entail the examination of fluids or other materials taken from the human body. See Florida Statutes 483.803
- Clinical laboratory personnel: includes a clinical laboratory director, supervisor, technologist, blood gas analyst, or technician who performs or is responsible for laboratory test procedures, but the term does not include trainees, persons who perform screening for blood banks or plasmapheresis centers, phlebotomists, or persons employed by a clinical laboratory to perform manual pretesting duties or clerical, personnel, or other administrative responsibilities. See Florida Statutes 483.803
The purpose of this part is to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the people of this state from the hazards of improper performance by clinical laboratory personnel. Clinical laboratories provide essential services to practitioners of the healing arts by furnishing vital information that is essential to a determination of the nature, cause, and extent of the condition involved. Unreliable and inaccurate reports may cause unnecessary anxiety, suffering, and financial burdens and may even contribute directly to death. The protection of public and individual health requires the licensure of clinical laboratory personnel who meet minimum requirements for safe practice. The Legislature finds that laboratory testing technology continues to advance rapidly. The Legislature also finds that a hospital training program under the direction of the hospital clinical laboratory director offers an opportunity for individuals already trained in health care professions to expand the scope of their careers. The Legislature further finds that there is an immediate need for properly trained personnel to ensure patient access to testing. Therefore, the Legislature recognizes the patient-focused benefits of hospital-based training for laboratory and nonlaboratory personnel for testing within hospitals and commercial laboratories and recognizes the benefits of a training program approved by the Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel under the direction of the hospital clinical laboratory director.