Title: Hepatitis C Testing

Summary: Requires specified persons to be offered Hepatitis C testing; provides for followup health care for persons with positive test result; requires DOH to adopt rules & make available Hepatitis C information to health care practitioners; provides for applicability with respect to Hepatitis C testing by health care practitioners.

Full Text:
An act relating to Hepatitis Ctesting; creating s. 381.0044, F.S.; providing definitions; requiring specified persons to be offered Hepatitis Ctesting; providing for followup health care for persons with a positive test result; requiring the Department of Health to adopt rules and make available Hepatitis Cinformation to health care practitioners; providing for applicability with respect to Hepatitis Ctesting by health care practitioners; requiring a report to the Governor and Legislature; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 381.0044, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 381.0044 He patitis Ctesting.-(1) As used in this section, the term: (a) "Health care practitioner" means a person licensed under chapter or chapter or an advanced registered nurse practitioner certified under part I of chapter 464. (b) "Hepatitis Cdi agnostic test" means a laboratory test that detects the presence of the Hepatitis Cvirus in the blood and provides confirmation of a Hepatitis Cvirus infection. (c) "Hepatitis Cscreening test" means any Food and Drug CS/HB 2014 Administration (FDA)-approved labo ratory screening test, FDA approved rapid point-of-care test, or other FDA-approved test that detects the presence of Hepatitis Cantibodies in the blood. (2) A person born between January 1, 1945, and December 31, 1965, who receives health care services as an inpatient in a general hospital as defined in s. 395.002, receives primary care services in a hospital inpatient or outpatient setting, or receives primary care services from a health care practitioner shall be offered a Hepatitis Cscreening test unless the health care practitioner providing those services reasonably believes that the person: (a) Is being treated for a life-threatening emergency; (b) Has previously been offered or has been the subject of a Hepatitis Cscreening test; however, if the person's medical condition indicates the need for testing, a test shall be offered; or (c) Lacks the capacity to consent to a Hepatitis Cscreening test. (3) If a patient accepts the offer of a Hepatitis Cscreening test and receives a positive te st result, the health care practitioner shall forward the results to the patient's primary care health care practitioner who can provide the appropriate counseling and followup health care. The followup health care shall include a Hepatitis Cdiagnostic te st. (4) The Department of Health shall adopt rules to CS/HB 2014 implement culturally and linguistically appropriate procedures for offering Hepatitis Cscreening in accordance with this section and must make available to health care practitioners a standard Hepati tis Cinformation sheet to use when discussing and offering the screening test to patients. (5) This section does not affect the scope of practice of a health care practitioner or diminish the authority or legal or professional obligation of any health care practitioner to offer a Hepatitis Cscreening test or Hepatitis Cdiagnostic test or to provide services or followup health care for the subject of a Hepatitis Cscreening test or Hepatitis Cdiagnostic test. (6) On or before January 1, 2016, the Sta te Surgeon General shall submit a status report on the Hepatitis Ctesting program established in this section to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the appropriate substantive committe es of the Legislature. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.