Health Care Practitioner Maternal Mental Health Continuing Education Requirements

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Health Care Practitioner Maternal Mental Health Continuing Education Requirements

This bill requires health care practitioners to complete continuing education on maternal mental health as part of their license renewal process.

What This Bill Does

• Requires health care practitioners to include specific topics in their continuing education for license renewal, such as screening practices and treatment options for maternal mental health disorders.
• Specifies that the curriculum must cover when a doctor should consult with a psychiatrist versus making a referral.
• Allows boards or the Department of Health to periodically update the curriculum based on new research.
• Accepts successful completion of this curriculum as credit towards continuing education requirements.

Who It Names or Affects

• Health care practitioners who need to renew their licenses, including those in pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and clinical psychology.

Terms To Know

Continuing Education

Training or coursework that professionals must complete regularly to keep up with new developments in their field.

Licensure Renewal

The process of renewing a professional license, which often requires completing continuing education courses.

Limits and Unknowns

• It is unclear how the bill will be enforced or what penalties there might be for non-compliance.
• The specific number of required hours for continuing education on maternal mental health is not detailed in the provided text.

Official Summary Text

Health Care Practitioner Maternal Mental Health Continuing Education Requirements; Provides curriculum requirements relating to maternal mental health for required continuing education hours for licensure renewal; requires board, or DOH if there is no board, to periodically update specified curriculum & accept, as credit toward continuing education requirements, successful completion of such curriculum.

Current Bill Text

HB 873 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb873-00
Page 1 of 2
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to health care practitioner maternal 2
mental health continuing education requirements; 3
creating s. 456.63, F.S.; providing curriculum 4
requirements relating to maternal mental health for 5
the required continuing education hours for licensure 6
renewal; requiring a board, or the Department of 7
Health if there is no board, to periodically update 8
specified curriculum and accept, as credit toward 9
continuing education requirements, the successful 10
completion of such curriculum; providing an effective 11
date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
15
Section 1. Section 456.63, Florida Statutes, is created to 16
read: 17
456.63 Continuing education on maternal mental health.- 18
(1) Continuing education hours required for licensure 19
renewal for health care practitioners shall include all of the 20
following: 21
(a) The best practices in screening for maternal mental 22
health disorders. 23
(b) The range of maternal mental health disorders. 24
(c) The range of evidence-based treatment options, 25

HB 873 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb873-00
Page 2 of 2
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

including the importance of allowing a mother to be involved in 26
developing a treatment plan. 27
(d) When an obstetrician or a primary care physician 28
should consult with a psychiatrist versus making a referral. 29
(2) A board, or the department when there is no board, 30
shall: 31
(a) Periodically update any curriculum developed pursuant 32
to subsection (1) to account for new research. 33
(b) Accept, as credit toward the continuing education 34
requirements for renewal of a license, the successful completion 35
of the curriculum under subsection (1) by a health care 36
practitioner who practices in the specialty of: 37
1. Pediatrics; 38
2. Obstetrics and gynecology; 39
3. Psychiatry; or 40
4. Clinical psychology. 41
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 42