Annual Layout 2017-2018_1-11-19

ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018 4 surgeon general and secretary As Florida’s State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health, it gives me great pleasure to present the Division of Medical Quality Assurance (MQA) 2017-2018 Annual Report. MQA exemplifies the Department’s values of Innovation, Collaboration, Accountability, Responsiveness, and Excellence in many areas and continues to make great strides towards meeting strategic goals of licensure and regulatory efficiency. The health of Floridians plays a crucial role in the growth of our state. MQA serves as the liaison between the public, health care professionals and their boards and councils by ensuring the Department effectively licenses, regulates, and provides information to health care professionals to achieve the Department’s mission of protecting and promoting the health and safety of all people in Florida. For example, a collaborative effort between the Board of Medicine and MQA’s System Support Services resulted in the development of a system that allows Physician Assistants (PA) to update information about their supervising physician online. This permits PAs to start work under their new supervising physicians immediately after completing an update. The new system greatly reduced the number of paper forms sent into the office, increasing efficiency and allowing PAs to begin work more quickly. In addition, our boards worked to improve application processing performance throughout the year. The boards achieved this goal by working together to improve processes and communication with licensees to ensure all requirements were met to process applications. Getting qualified licensees to work quickly has a positive and long-lasting impact on Florida’s economy. Through the Veterans Application for Licensure Online Response system or VALOR, the Department offers expedited processing for military veterans, active duty service members and their spouses seeking licensure in all health care professions. For the 2017-2018 fiscal year, 359 applications for licensure were processed and approved through the VALOR system. MQA is committed to efficient licensure; and, as an example, the Board of Physical Therapy received a VALOR application on January 2, 2018, the application was processed, and the license was issued within 24 hours. During the 2018 regular Session, Florida’s Legislature acknowledged the recent opioid crisis by passing the Controlled Substances Bill. This law establishes prescribing limits, requires continuing education on controlled substance prescribing, and expands the required role of Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. As we look toward the future, MQA will continue working hard to serve health care professionals and the citizens of Florida. The dedicated MQA staff strove for excellence in all they did during the 2017-2018 fiscal year, and I am confident they will continue their stellar performance for years to come. Celeste Philip, MD, MPH State Surgeon General and Secretary