| Chapter 081 |
| 2021 -- S 0108 Enacted 06/24/2021 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES -- HIV/AIDS |
Introduced By: Senators Valverde, and DiMario |
| Date Introduced: January 26, 2021 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 23-6.3-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-6.3 entitled "Prevention |
| and Suppression of Contagious Diseases - HIV/AIDS" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 23-6.3-15. Laboratory analyses and reporting. |
| (a) All biological samples or specimens taken for the purpose of performing laboratory |
| analysis for the detection of antibody to HIV, by or under the direction or order of any health care |
| healthcare provider working within the scope of his or her practice, shall be sent to the department |
| of health laboratory for analysis. This provision shall not apply to those HIV tests performed in a |
| hospital laboratory, clinical laboratories as defined in ยง 23-16.2-2 with testing facilities located in |
| Rhode Island, or to those sites performing rapid HIV testing. |
| (b) Hospitals shall forward all positive confirmatory HIV test results to the department. All |
| sites performing HIV testing must submit an annual HIV testing report to the department in |
| accordance with regulations promulgated by the department. |
| (c) The department laboratory shall conduct all confirmatory testing for HIV/AIDS with |
| the exception of written waivers issued by the department as indicated in subsection (d) below. |
| (d) Sites performing non-venapuncture HIV testing (e.g., rapid testing), must seek a waiver |
| from the department to provide confirmatory HIV testing from a laboratory other than the state |
| laboratory, and shall forward all positive and negative confirmatory HIV tests results to the |
| department. |
| (e) Except in the case of anonymous HIV testing, a health care healthcare provider |
| working within the scope of his or her practice providing samples of specimens for HIV testing, or |
| results of HIV tests to the department, shall include the name of the patient and other identifying |
| information including information related to the individual's health insurance policy as applicable. |
| (f) Any HIV cases reported in the previous code-based system, shall remain in a code- |
| based data set. This does not prohibit a physician from submitting or requesting that an updated |
| name case report on a patient replace a previously coded case report. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC000760 |
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