So far, Florida has failed to end vaccine mandates. Now there's a last-ditch effort
Every state, as well as D.C., requires children to obtain certain vaccinations before they can attend school or childcare. These mandates date back decades, and are considered a foundational bulwark of public health defense against infectious disease. Since last summer, Florida's leaders have aimed to be the first state to drop some of those vaccine mandates. The anti-vaccine rhetoric, and the efforts to revise laws and regulations, rumbled along at the state health department, and in the legislature. But by March, the fight seemed to have stalled out. But the story may not be over. More from NPR and Health News Florida]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Introducing more internists
More providers-in-training will soon walk the halls of HCA Florida Capital Hospital in Tallahassee, where the UCF College of Medicine is launching an internal medicine residency program. Internists specialize in adult medicine. Through the new program, trainees will work across settings and specialties — from critical care and cardiology to endocrinology, infectious disease and primary care — and participate in case-based learning, journal clubs and simulation-based education. The first class of 12 residents will start the three-year program this July. [Source: Florida Trend]
Why AI-generated consent forms could put Florida doctors at legal risk
Across Florida, a troubling pattern has emerged in physician offices, surgical centers, and specialty clinics: providers are delegating the preparation of informed consent documentation to generative artificial intelligence tools, most commonly ChatGPT. The appeal is obvious. The technology produces polished, seemingly comprehensive prose in seconds, at no marginal cost. The legal consequence, however, is neither polished nor inexpensive; it is a malpractice trap. [Source: Miami's Community News]
A Florida Medicaid funding shift is raising alarms among pediatric providers
A group of Florida pediatric providers is warning they have only weeks of operating runway left, saying a Medicaid funding shift has diverted dollars from routine pediatric care to cover Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA. The shift dates to February 2025, when Florida moved its ABA benefit into Medicaid managed care. Since then, providers say, funding for routine pediatric care has been redirected to cover ABA services even though ABA is provided to only a very small portion of the Medicaid population. [Source: Florida Politics]
Why a plan to fix health insurance for thousands of Florida children has stalled
In 2023, Florida lawmakers unanimously approved expanding KidCare, raising the eligibility threshold so that coverage would extend to more than 40,000 children. But the expanded coverage has not taken effect — even after it was approved by federal regulators following a federal lawsuit — because the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not implemented the changes. Instead, Florida’s KidCare expansion has been mired in lawsuits and ongoing negotiations between the state and federal regulators. While the delay continues, Florida could be violating the law. More from KFF Health News and the Washington Post.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› In South Florida, GLP-1 drugs show new benefits — and new risks
Medications that suppress appetite and increase feelings of fullness are allowing people to better manage diabetes and obesity. However, as prescriptions for weight-loss drugs soar, additional benefits and risks of GLP-1 drugs are emerging. New research reveals a potential link between GLP-1 drugs and improvements in myriad health conditions, including sleep apnea, joint pain, liver disease, heart disease, asthma, and even addiction.
› UF researchers study velvet bean as potential Parkinson’s treatment
A team of University of Florida researchers has been studying a tropical plant that they say could effectively treat Parkinson's tremors in a more accessible way. The velvet bean, scientifically known as Mucuna Pruriens, is a legume native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. It grows on a vine and is characterized by a dark, rough outer pod. The velvet bean has been grown in Florida since 1871 to help the growth of surrounding plants.
› Florida Gulf Coast University breaks ground on new medical building
Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers took another step toward preparing future health care workers this week when it broke ground on a $117 million health sciences building. FGCU nursing Student Gabriel de Cardenas WGCU Gabriel de Cardenas is a first-semester nursing student, The building will be known as Marieb Hall South and will house simulated intensive care units, labor and delivery suites, and operating rooms.
› A Florida company's autonomous robot may soon move patients around hospitals
Rovex Technologies Corp. founder and CEO Dr. David Crabb has experienced hospital logistical challenges firsthand. He’s an emergency room physician by trade. This led Crabb to explore autonomous robots and how they could assist. In 2024, he started the Gainesville-based startup and began to develop Rovi – which can carry stretchers. The organization will be opening an office in February at St. Petersburg-based incubator spARK Labs by ARK Invest, south of downtown.