Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Services:
HB 647 revises Florida’s death and fetal death registration laws to explicitly include advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in several places where the law previously referred only to physicians, physician assistants, and medical examiners. The bill allows an APRN registered under s. 464.0123, and in some cases an APRN providing hospice care under a written protocol with a licensed physician, to file or furnish medical certification information for death and fetal death certificates. It also updates the definition of “primary or attending practitioner” to include these APRNs when they treated the decedent within the prior 12 months through examination, medical advice, or medication.
The bill also makes conforming changes to the process for correcting and finalizing death and fetal death certificates. It authorizes APRNs, alongside the other listed practitioners and medical examiners, to note corrected information on a permanent certificate of death or fetal death. The act takes effect July 1, 2025.
In practical terms, the bill expands who may participate in the death certification process, which may help reduce delays when a physician is unavailable and better reflect the role APRNs already play in patient care, especially in hospice and primary care settings. It amends s. 382.008, Florida Statutes, affecting funeral directors, medical certifiers, APRNs, physicians, physician assistants, medical examiners, and the Department of Health’s registration procedures.
The overall sentiment appears favorable and noncontroversial. There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history indicating opposition, and the bill was enacted as Chapter No. 2025-50. The absence of recorded debate suggests the measure was viewed as a technical or practice-alignment update rather than a contested policy change.
Any potential point of contention would likely center on the expansion of certification authority to APRNs, particularly whether they should have the same role as physicians in completing official vital records. However, the available legislative history does not show active dispute, and the bill’s language indicates it was framed as a limited administrative and professional scope update rather than a broader expansion of clinical authority.
HB 647 amends section 382.008, Florida Statutes, to broaden the categories of health professionals who may file and certify death and fetal death certificates and who may correct information on permanent certificates. It directly affects the duties of APRNs, physicians, physician assistants, hospice providers, funeral directors, medical examiners, and the Department of Health’s vital records process, while aligning the statute with APRN practice authority under chapter 464.
The bill appears to have been received positively and without notable opposition. There are no committee transcripts or recorded votes showing controversy, and the measure was enacted into law as Chapter No. 2025-50. The legislative history suggests consensus around updating the death certification process to reflect APRN participation in patient care.
The main substantive issue is the expansion of authority to APRNs to file, certify, and correct death and fetal death records, a function traditionally associated with physicians and medical examiners. Any concern would likely come from those wary of broadening official certification responsibilities beyond physicians, but the available record shows no documented opposition or debate, indicating little visible contention during passage.