Fla. Admin. Code R. 64W-1.002 (2026)

For the purpose of this chapter, the words and phrases below are defined as follows:

(1) “Conrad 30 Waiver Program” – Federal program authorized in 8 U.S.C. §1184(l) which allows for waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement.

(2) “Critical Shortage” – Shortage of physicians in a specific specialty and/or within a specific geographic area.

(3) “Direct patient care” – In-person, face-to-face care with patients.

(4) “Flex” – Exchange visitor physicians who will serve at facilities which may not be located within a designated health professional shortage area but which serve patients who live within such a designated area. 8 U.S.C. §1184(l)(1)(D)(ii), 01/24/2020, incorporated by reference and available at https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13372, specifies the maximum number of exchange visitor physicians who will serve in Flex.

(5) “Full-Time Employment” – A physician must provide direct patient care for at least 40 hours per week. Additional duties (i.e., teaching, research, supervising residents/fellows/students, supervising clinics, or other administrative work) are not included for purposes of fulfilling the required 40 hours.

(6) “Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)” – Areas designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as having shortages of primary care, dental or mental health providers and may be by geography (a county or service area), population (e.g., low income or Medicaid eligible), or facility (e.g., federally-qualified health center or state correctional institution).

(7) “HHS Exchange Visitor Program” – a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) program that accepts applications to request waiver of the J-1 Visa home-residence requirement for physicians.

(8) “Primary Care Physicians” – Physicians practicing Family Medicine; general Internal Medicine; general Pediatrics; general Obstetrics/Gynecology; and Psychiatry.

(9) “Specialists” – Physicians who do not provide primary care as defined in subsection (8) above.

Rulemaking Authority 381.4018(3) FS. Law Implemented 381.4018 FS. History–New 8-12-21, Amended 10-24-22, 8-23-26.

Effective: 8/23/2026.