No. CS/HB 93
Filed under Healthcare.
Protection from Surgical Smoke ; Defines "smoke evacuation system" & "surgical smoke"; requires hospitals & ambulatory surgical centers to, by specified date, adopt & implement policies requiring use of smoke evacuation systems or any other appropriate measure under certain circumstances.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDStarting January 1, 2027, every licensed facility -- hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers under Florida's hospital licensing law -- must adopt and put in place a written policy addressing surgical smoke exposure risk to patients and staff.
The policy must apply whenever there is a substantial likelihood that surgical smoke could put patients or personnel at risk, and it must call for a smoke evacuation system or another appropriate protective measure.
The law defines a smoke evacuation system as equipment that captures and filters surgical smoke before it reaches the eyes or airways of anyone in the room, and defines surgical smoke broadly to include laser and electrosurgical byproducts, plume, bio-aerosols, and lung-damaging dust.
AIEach licensed facility must adopt and implement a policy to prevent exposure to surgical smoke by January 1, 2027, whenever there is a substantial likelihood of risk to patients or personnel.
AIThe required policy is not limited to installing a smoke evacuation system; a facility may instead use any other appropriate measure to prevent surgical smoke exposure, so long as the risk is addressed.
AI'Surgical smoke' is defined as the gaseous byproduct of energy-generating devices like lasers and electrosurgical tools, and expressly includes plume, bio-aerosols, laser-generated airborne contaminants, and lung-damaging dust.
AIA 'smoke evacuation system' is defined as equipment that effectively captures and filters surgical smoke before it reaches the eyes or respiratory tracts of anyone in the room, rather than a specific required device.