Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Greenstein and McKnight
SYNOPSIS
Requires health care professionals to perform lead screening on pregnant persons under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning lead screening and supplementing P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.2 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
Department means the Department of Health
Lead screening means the application of a detection technique to measure a persons blood lead level and determine the extent of the persons recent exposure to lead.
2. a. A physician or registered professional nurse, as appropriate, shall assess each pregnant person to whom the physician or registered professional nurse provides health care services for possible risk factors for lead exposure and elevated blood lead levels. If the assessment identifies at least one risk factor in accordance with the most recent recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the physician or nurse shall perform, once per pregnancy, lead screening on the patient.
b. If the physician or registered professional nurse, as appropriate, cannot perform the required lead screening, the physician or registered professional nurse may refer the patient, in writing, to another physician or registered professional nurse who is able to perform the lead screening.
c. If a physician or registered professional nurse, as appropriate, receives laboratory test results indicating that the pregnant person has an elevated blood lead level, the physician or registered professional nurse shall notify the patient, in writing, about the test results, and shall additionally provide the patient with an explanation, in plain language, of the significance of lead poisoning. The physician or registered professional nurse shall also take appropriate measures to ensure that any of the patients children or other members of the patients household who are under the age of six are, or have been, screened for lead exposure.
d. A physician or registered professional nurse, as appropriate, shall not be required to conduct lead screening under this act if the patient objects to the testing in writing.
e. A physician or registered professional nurse, as appropriate, shall comply with the blood sample collection requirements specified in section 4 of P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.5).
3. A laboratory which performs a lead screening test pursuant to subsection a. of section 2 of this act shall report the test results to the department, the local health department in the municipality in which the pregnant person who is the subject of the test resides, and the physician or registered professional nurse, as appropriate, that submitted the specimen, within five business days of obtaining the test result.
4. a. A record of all lead screenings conducted pursuant to section 2 of this act shall be included in the central database maintained by the department in accordance with provisions of section 5 of P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.6).
b. The information reported to and compiled by the department pursuant to this act shall be confidential, except that the department may make such statistical reports available using information compiled from the database. The information included in the statistical reports shall exclude the name or other personal identifying information of the pregnant person screened in accordance with all other federal and State laws regarding the confidentiality of medical information.
5. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
6. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires a physician or registered professional nurse, as appropriate, to assess each pregnant person to whom the physician or nurse provides health care services for possible risk factors for lead exposure and elevated blood lead levels. If the assessment identifies at least one risk factor in accordance with the most recent recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the physician or nurse is to perform lead screening, as defined in the bill, on the patient.
If the physician or registered professional nurse cannot perform the required lead screening, the physician or nurse may refer the patient to another physician or nurse who is able to perform the lead screening.
The bill stipulates that if a physician or registered professional nurse receives laboratory test results indicating that the pregnant person has an elevated blood lead level, the physician or registered nurse is to: notify the patient about the test results; provide the patient with an explanation of the significance of lead poisoning; and ensure that any of the patients children or other members of the patients household under the age of six are, or have been, screened for lead exposure.
A physician or registered professional nurse is: (1) prohibited from conducting lead screening if the patient objects to the testing in writing; and (2) to comply with the blood sample collection requirements specified in section 4 of P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.5).
The bill requires a laboratory which performs a lead screening test to report the test results to the Department of Health (DOH), the local health department in the municipality in which the pregnant person resides, and the physician or registered professional nurse that submitted the specimen, within five business days of obtaining the test result.
A record of all lead screenings conducted under the bill is to be included in the central database maintained by the DOH as required under section 5 of P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.6). The information reported to and compiled by the DOH is confidential, except that statistical reports may be made available using information compiled from the database, excluding personal identifying information.