2 / 22
MQA Q4 2014 - 2015
It is with great pleasure I present to you the Quarterly Performance Report (QPR) for the fourth
quarter of fiscal year 2014-15. This is an exciting time for public health in Florida. As Florida’s
population has grown 5.5%, Florida’s health care workforce has increased by 15.9% since
2010. To support this growth, the Division of Medical Quality Assurance (MQA) upholds Florida’s
public health legacy making licensing and regulation more efficient -- so Floridians get to work
faster and easier. MQA strives to become the leader in health care quality regulation and has
the unique opportunity to inform, educate and establish a presence in the community it works
to protect. During the fourth quarter the Division conducted a variety of outreach efforts to
further develop and strengthen relationships with its key partners and stakeholders. Our role
in regulating health care providers and sharing information with consumers is integral to the
Department’s mission to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida. This
report includes information about our outreach, key performance measures and information
about employees who made it all possible.
Lucy Gee,
MQA Division Director
Director’s Message
The Bureau of Enforcement’s Unlicensed Activity program protects Florida residents and visitor from the
potentially serious consequences of receiving health care services from an unlicensed person. During the
last quarter, the program continued its outreach efforts by hosting law enforcement meet and greets in area
field offices, speaking engagements at the Florida Sheriff’s Association and continued outreach through movie
trailers and gas pump advertising. While the local area office meet and greets and speaking engagements at
conferences helped get the message out to our local law enforcement partners, the overall community outreach
had the potential of reaching millions of people in Central and South Florida.
The Bureau of Health Care Practitioner Regulation knows reaching its licensees with the necessary information
is critical, and is continually increasing its outreach efforts. In order to improve access to laws and rules testing
for each profession, beginning in July 2015 these tests will be administered by national testing providers. The
Florida Board of Nursing received positive feedback following the launch of their magazine
The Florida Nursing
Quarterly
, which keeps the state’s licensed nursing community abreast of important regulatory updates,
licensing and renewal. The Board of Medicine’s first bimonthly newsletter, which provided updated information
on disciplinary statistics, licensure statistics, rule hearings, and more, also received a positive response. Also
during this quarter, the Board of Pharmacy’s Controlled Substance Standards Committee worked with patients
and the health care community to identify real solutions and make recommendations to address the challenges
Florida’s patients face in obtaining their prescriptions to control pain.
Bureau of ENFORCEMENT
Bureau of HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER REGULATION
Bureau Messages
1
The Division upholds the Department’s mission to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida. MQA works with
other stakeholder agencies at the state and federal levels, and our regional investigative offices work with local officials and law
enforcement agencies to stop dangerous activity within Florida communities. The Quarterly Performance Report for the fourth quarter
of fiscal year 2014-15 provides statutorily required information on revenue, expenditures and performance measures, and highlights
MQA’s accomplishments, outstanding employees and successful partnerships.