Florida Senate - 2014                              CS for SB 722
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Garcia
       
       
       
       
       
       588-02465-14                                           2014722c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to newborn health screening; amending
    3         s. 383.14, F.S.; authorizing the State Public Health
    4         Laboratory to release the results of a newborn’s
    5         hearing and metabolic tests or screenings to the
    6         newborn’s health care practitioner; defining the term
    7         “health care practitioner” as it relates to such
    8         release; amending s. 383.145, F.S.; revising the
    9         definition of “hearing impairment”; updating a cross-
   10         reference; creating s. 383.146, F.S.; requiring a
   11         health care practitioner to provide an opportunity for
   12         the parent or legal guardian of a child who is
   13         diagnosed with a hearing impairment to provide contact
   14         information so that he or she may receive information
   15         directly from specified service providers; requiring
   16         the health care practitioner to transmit the
   17         information; requiring the Department of Health to
   18         post a list of certain service providers and
   19         institutions; authorizing the department to adopt
   20         rules; providing an effective date.
   21          
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
   25  383.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   26         383.14 Screening for metabolic disorders, other hereditary
   27  and congenital disorders, and environmental risk factors.—
   28         (1) SCREENING REQUIREMENTS.—To help ensure access to the
   29  maternal and child health care system, the Department of Health
   30  shall promote the screening of all newborns born in Florida for
   31  metabolic, hereditary, and congenital disorders known to result
   32  in significant impairment of health or intellect, as screening
   33  programs accepted by current medical practice become available
   34  and practical in the judgment of the department. The department
   35  shall also promote the identification and screening of all
   36  newborns in this state and their families for environmental risk
   37  factors such as low income, poor education, maternal and family
   38  stress, emotional instability, substance abuse, and other high
   39  risk conditions associated with increased risk of infant
   40  mortality and morbidity to provide early intervention,
   41  remediation, and prevention services, including, but not limited
   42  to, parent support and training programs, home visitation, and
   43  case management. Identification, perinatal screening, and
   44  intervention efforts shall begin prior to and immediately
   45  following the birth of the child by the attending health care
   46  provider. Such efforts shall be conducted in hospitals,
   47  perinatal centers, county health departments, school health
   48  programs that provide prenatal care, and birthing centers, and
   49  reported to the Office of Vital Statistics.
   50         (c) Release of screening results.—Notwithstanding any other
   51  law to the contrary, the State Public Health Laboratory may
   52  release, directly or through the Children’s Medical Services
   53  program, the results of a newborn’s hearing and metabolic tests
   54  or screenings screening to the newborn’s health care
   55  practitioner. As used in this paragraph, the term “health care
   56  practitioner” means a physician or physician assistant licensed
   57  under chapter 458; an osteopathic physician or physician
   58  assistant licensed under chapter 459; an advanced registered
   59  nurse practitioner, registered nurse, or licensed practical
   60  nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464; a midwife licensed
   61  under chapter 467; a speech-language pathologist or audiologist
   62  licensed under part I of chapter 468; or a dietician or
   63  nutritionist licensed under part X of chapter 468 primary care
   64  physician.
   65         Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and paragraphs
   66  (i) and (k) of subsection (3) of section 383.145, Florida
   67  Statutes, are amended to read:
   68         383.145 Newborn and infant hearing screening.—
   69         (2) DEFINITIONS.—
   70         (c) “Hearing impairment” means a hearing loss of 16 30 dB
   71  HL or greater in the frequency region important for speech
   72  recognition and comprehension in one or both ears, approximately
   73  500 through 4,000 hertz.
   74         (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR SCREENING OF NEWBORNS; INSURANCE
   75  COVERAGE; REFERRAL FOR ONGOING SERVICES.—
   76         (i) By October 1, 2000, Newborn hearing screening must be
   77  conducted on all newborns in hospitals in this state on birth
   78  admission. When a newborn is delivered in a facility other than
   79  a hospital, the parents must be instructed on the importance of
   80  having the hearing screening performed and must be given
   81  information to assist them in having the screening performed
   82  within 3 months after the child’s birth.
   83         (k) A Any child who is diagnosed as having a permanent
   84  hearing impairment shall be referred to the primary care
   85  physician for medical management, treatment, and followup
   86  services. Furthermore, in accordance with Pub. L. No. 108-446
   87  105-17, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities The Infants and
   88  Toddlers Program, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
   89  any child from birth to 36 months of age who is diagnosed as
   90  having a hearing impairment that requires ongoing special
   91  hearing services must be referred to the Children’s Medical
   92  Services Early Intervention Program serving the geographical
   93  area in which the child resides.
   94         Section 3. Section 383.146, Florida Statutes, is created to
   95  read:
   96         383.146Children who are deaf or hard of hearing; notice of
   97  service providers.—
   98         (1) At the time that a health care practitioner diagnoses a
   99  child as having a permanent hearing impairment, the health care
  100  practitioner shall ask the child’s parent or legal guardian if
  101  he or she would like to provide a mailing address or an e-mail
  102  address to receive direct correspondence from providers or
  103  institutions that offer speech and language pathology services,
  104  auditory-oral education, instruction with American Sign
  105  Language, or other such services as approved by rule of the
  106  Department of Health. A parent or legal guardian shall authorize
  107  the release of the mail or e-mail address by signing a consent
  108  form.
  109         (2) The health care practitioner shall fax the form to
  110  those providers and institutions that:
  111         (a) Are licensed, approved, or listed in this state by the
  112  Children’s Medical Services Early Steps Program to provide
  113  direct services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and
  114         (b) Have notified the Department of Health of their
  115  interest in providing direct communication to families about
  116  their services.
  117         (3) The Department of Health shall post a list of the
  118  providers and institutions specified in subsection (2) on its
  119  website and may adopt rules as necessary to implement and
  120  administer this section.
  121         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.