2023 New York Laws
PBH - Public Health
Article 21 - Control of Acute Communicable Diseases
Title 7 - Hepatitis C
2171 - Required Offering of Hepatitis C Screening Testing.

* §  2171.  Required  offering  of hepatitis C screening testing.   1.
Every individual age eighteen and older (or  younger  than  eighteen  if
there  is  evidence  or indication of risk activity) who receives health
services as an inpatient or in the emergency  department  of  a  general
hospital  defined in subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one
of this chapter or who receives primary care services in  an  outpatient
department  of  such  hospital  or  in a diagnostic and treatment center
licensed under article twenty-eight of this chapter or from a physician,
physician assistant, nurse practitioner  or  midwife  providing  primary
care  shall  be  offered  a hepatitis C screening test unless the health
care practitioner providing such services reasonably believes that:
  (a) the individual is being treated for a life threatening  emergency;
or
  (b) the individual has previously been offered or has been the subject
of  a hepatitis C screening test (except that a test shall be offered if
otherwise indicated); or
  (c) the  individual  lacks  capacity  to  consent  to  a  hepatitis  C
screening test.
2.  If an individual accepts the offer of a hepatitis C screening test
and the screening test is reactive, an HCV RNA test must  be  performed,
on  the same specimen or a second specimen collected at the same time as
the initial HCV screening test specimen, to confirm diagnosis of current
infection. The health care provider shall either offer all persons  with
a  detectable  HCV  RNA  test follow-up HCV health care and treatment or
refer the individual to a health care provider who can provide follow-up
HCV health care and treatment.
3. The offering of hepatitis C screening testing  under  this  section
shall  be  culturally  and linguistically appropriate in accordance with
rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner.
4. This section shall not affect the scope of practice of  any  health
care  practitioner  or  diminish  any authority or legal or professional
obligation of any health  care  practitioner  to  offer  a  hepatitis  C
screening  test or hepatitis C diagnostic test or to provide services or
care for the subject of a hepatitis C  screening  test  or  hepatitis  C
diagnostic test.
5.  Definitions.  As  used  in this section, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
  (a) "Hepatitis C diagnostic test" shall mean any  laboratory  test  or
tests  that  detect  the  presence of hepatitis C virus in the blood and
provides confirmation of whether the individual has a hepatitis C  virus
infection.
  (b)  "Hepatitis  C screening test" shall mean any laboratory screening
test or tests that detect the presence of hepatitis C  virus  antibodies
in the blood.
  (c)  "Primary  care"  means  the  medical  fields  of family medicine,
general  pediatrics,  primary  care,  internal  medicine,  primary  care
obstetrics,   or  primary  care  gynecology,  without  regard  to  board
certification.
* NB Repealed January 1, 2030