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This entry was published on 2023-06-23
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SECTION 266
Department website
Public Health (PBH) CHAPTER 45, ARTICLE 2, TITLE 6
§ 266. Department website. 1. The department shall establish and
maintain an internet website for the purpose of advancing women's health
initiatives. The website shall provide information for the purposes of
educating the public and raising awareness of women's health issues,
provide links to useful resources and encourage the use of services now
made more widely available to the women of New York state. The website
shall also promote the following preventative services now covered
pursuant to federal law and regulation, and explain that such services
must be covered with no cost sharing:

(a) Anemia screening for pregnant women;

(b) Bacteriuria urinary tract or other infection screening for
pregnant women;

(c) BRCA counseling about genetic testing for women at higher risk;

(d) Breast cancer mammography screenings every one to two years for
women over age forty;

(e) Breast cancer chemoprevention counseling for women at higher risk;

(f) Breastfeeding comprehensive support and counseling from trained
providers, as well as access to breastfeeding supplies, for pregnant and
nursing women;

(g) Cervical cancer screening for sexually active women;

(h) Chlamydia infection screening for younger women and other women at
higher risk;

(i) Contraception: Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive
methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling,
not including abortifacient drugs;

(j) Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling for
all women;

(k) Folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant;

(l) Gestational diabetes screening for women twenty-four to
twenty-eight weeks pregnant and those at high risk of developing
gestational diabetes;

(m) Gonorrhea screening for all women at higher risk;

(n) Hepatitis B screening for pregnant women at their first prenatal
visit;

(o) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling for
sexually active women;

(p) Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA Test: high risk HPV DNA testing
every three years for women with normal cytology results who are thirty
years of age or older;

(q) Osteoporosis screening for women over age sixty depending on risk
factors;

(r) RH incompatibility screening for all pregnant women and follow-up
testing for women at higher risk;

(s) Tobacco use screening and interventions for all women, and
expanded counseling for pregnant tobacco users;

(t) Sexually transmitted infections (STI) counseling for sexually
active women;

(u) Syphilis screening for all pregnant women or other women at
increased risk; and

(v) Well-woman visits to obtain recommended preventive services.

2. The commissioner shall develop and update as necessary information
on possible complications from pregnancy that can endanger the life or
health of the newborn or the mother for purposes of advancing women's
health initiatives, pursuant to subdivision one of this section. Such
information shall be developed in consultation with any state or local
government maternal mortality review boards and health care providers or
other experts in the field of women and newborn health. Such information
shall be posted on the website in a printable format, in each of the top
six languages spoken in the state, other than English, according to the
latest available data from the United States Census Bureau, to allow all
general hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, obstetricians,
primary care providers, midwives, and other health care programs
providing women's wellness services to provide the information to their
patients as part of their wellness education or prenatal care
activities.

3. The department shall also consider making use of social media
networks for the purposes of advancing such initiatives.

4. Information pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall
include information related to pre-term labor and premature birth,
including but not limited to definitions and information on the risks of
pre-term labor and premature birth to the expectant mother and fetus, as
well as signs and symptoms of pre-term labor. The information shall also
include:

(a) a statement that the medical assistance program provides coverage
for all income-eligible pregnant women residing in the state regardless
of immigration status; and

(b) a statement informing individuals of their right to request a
hospital discharge review in accordance with section twenty-eight
hundred three-i of this article if they believe they are being asked to
leave a hospital too soon; and

(c) a statement informing individuals that hospitals must determine
whether an expectant mother is experiencing an emergency medical
condition, and upon making a diagnosis of an emergency medical
condition, admit the expectant mother to the general hospital or treat
them in the emergency room for close observation and continuous
monitoring until it is deemed medically safe for discharge or transfer
in accordance with state and federal requirements including the federal
Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

5. The department shall develop educational materials to be provided
to emergency room medical staff regarding the state and federal
discharge and transfer requirements.

6. Cytomegalovirus. (a) In addition to information provided pursuant
to this section, the commissioner shall also develop comprehensive
informational materials, which shall include, but not be limited to, the
symptoms, the risks, the transmission and the prevention of
cytomegalovirus and the effects that such virus may have on a pregnant
individual, an individual who may become pregnant, and children.

(b) i. The commissioner shall distribute such cytomegalovirus
informational materials to:

(1) licensed physicians who practice obstetric and/or gynecology in
this state; and

(2) those licensed to practice midwifery pursuant to article one
hundred forty of the education law.

ii. Such physicians or midwives shall provide the cytomegalovirus
informational materials to each pregnant patient during such patient's
first appointment with such physician or midwife.