BILL REQ. #:  H-3980.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/05/14.   

     AN ACT Relating to newborn screening; amending RCW 70.83.020; adding new sections to chapter 70.83 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 70.83.020 and 2010 c 94 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) It shall be the duty of the department of health to require screening tests of all newborn infants ((before they are discharged from the hospital)) born in any setting. Each hospital or health care provider attending a birth outside of a hospital shall collect and submit a sample blood specimen for all newborns no more than forty-eight hours following birth. The department of health shall conduct screening tests of samples for the detection of phenylketonuria and other heritable or metabolic disorders leading to intellectual disabilities or physical defects as defined by the state board of health: PROVIDED, That no such tests shall be given to any newborn infant whose parents or guardian object thereto on the grounds that such tests conflict with their religious tenets and practices.
     (2) The sample required in subsection (1) of this section must be received by the department within seventy-two hours of the collection of the sample, excluding any day that the Washington state public health laboratory is closed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 70.83 RCW to read as follows:
     In each instance in which the department of health notifies the infant's attending health care provider that the infant's screening test indicates a suspicion of abnormality, which may include an inadequate collection of a sample blood specimen, that requires further diagnostic evaluation, the attending health care provider shall notify the department of health of the date upon which the screening test results were disclosed by the attending health care provider to the parents or guardian of the infant.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 70.83 RCW to read as follows:
     The department of health shall compile an annual report for public distribution regarding the compliance rate of hospitals at meeting the deadlines established under RCW 70.83.020 for newborn screenings. The report must include information related to the performance of each individual hospital. The annual report must also include information about the extent to which health care providers are promptly informing parents and guardians about infant screening tests that indicate a suspicion of abnormality that requires further diagnostic evaluation. The report must be made available in a format that does not disclose any identifying information related to any infant, parent, or guardian, or health care provider. The report must be posted in an accessible location on the department of health's web site.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Sections 2 and 3 of this act expire January 1, 2020.