2019 -- H 5541 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

     

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Shanley, Solomon, Bennett, and Jackson

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2019

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     (Dept. of Health)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Sections 23-1-18 and 23-1-44 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-1 entitled

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"Department of Health" are hereby amended to read as follows:

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     23-1-18. Power to provide rules and regulations in specific areas.

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     Without limiting the generality of § 23-1-17, the rules and regulations relating to

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sanitation and health provided for by § 23-1-17 may include:

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     (1) Provisions fixing responsibilities of owners, operators, and occupants of land or

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buildings for the sanitary condition, maintenance, use, and occupancy of the land and buildings.

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     (2) Minimum standards with respect to the reporting of any disease and the quarantine of

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persons affected by that disease.

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     (3) Minimum standards and conditions for the location, construction, and sanitary quality

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of all drinking water supplies.

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     (4) Minimum standards for facilities and sanitary conditions for schools and the health

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care for school children.

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     (5) Minimum standards with respect to the maintenance and operation of food businesses.

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     (6) Minimum standards of air quality consistent with human health.

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     (7) Minimum standards consistent with human health for the quality of the waters of the

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state.

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     (8) Minimum standards consistent with human health for the quality of public drinking

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water.

 

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     (9) Minimum standards for immunization and testing for communicable diseases,

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including, but not limited to, tuberculosis, of employees, children, and students at any child day-

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care center, family day-care home, private nursery school, any other regular program providing

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educational services to preschool-aged children, public or private school, college, or university.

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     (10) Provisions requiring the reporting of immunization status and any other relevant

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information that the director determines appropriate for all persons under the age of eighteen (18)

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years for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a childhood an immunization registry,;

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provided, however, that the information collected by the department for the immunization registry

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will only include data elements nationally endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and

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Prevention to meet standards for immunization information systems, and that all personally

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identifiable information obtained pursuant to this section shall be subject to the provisions of

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chapter 37.3 of title 5 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub.

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L. No. 104-191 (HIPAA), as amended. Any person may opt out of and choose to remove his or

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her information from the immunization registry by contacting the department directly by phone or

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by submitting a form online which shall be made available on the department's website.

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     (11) Provisions requiring the reporting of inventories and sales of drugs, devices and

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other products potentially related to the outbreak of disease. All information acquired under this

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subsection by the department of health is confidential and not subject to public access pursuant to

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chapter 2 of title 38.

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     23-1-44. Routine childhood and adult immunization vaccines.

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     (a) The department of health shall include in the department's immunization program

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those vaccines for routine childhood immunization as recommended by the Advisory Committee

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for Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and for routine adult

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influenza immunization as recommended by the ACIP, to the extent permitted by available funds.

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The childhood immunization program includes administrative and quality assurance services and

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KIDSNET the Rhode Island Child and Adult Immunization Registry (RICAIR), a confidential,

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computerized child health information system that is used to manage statewide immunizations, as

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well as other public health preventive services, for all children persons in Rhode Island from birth

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through age 18.

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     (b) The director of the department of health shall appoint an advisory committee that will

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be convened after the ACIP makes a recommendation regarding adult immunization. The

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committee will review the ACIP recommendations for the state, assess the vaccine cost and

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feasibility, and advise the director of health and the office of the health insurance commissioner

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regarding insurers and providers acting on the ACIP adult immunization recommendation. All

 

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recommendations will be posted on the department of health website. The advisory committee

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membership shall include, but not be limited to, a primary care provider, pharmacist,

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representatives of the nursing home industry, the home health care industry and major insurers.

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     (c) For the purpose of protecting patients' information, all personally-identifiable

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information obtained pursuant to this section shall be subject to the privacy protections of chapter

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37.3 of title 5 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No.

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104-191 (HIPAA), as amended.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

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     This act would expand the requirement that the department of health promulgate

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provisions requiring the reporting of immunization status and any other relevant information for

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all persons, not just children, for the purposes of establishing an immunization registry. All

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information collected shall only include data elements nationally endorsed by the Centers for

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Disease Control and Prevention, and would allow an individual to opt out if they so choose. This

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act would also require the department of health to include routine adult immunization in the

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department’s immunization program.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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