As in effect on May 1, 2008
(1) The purpose of this rule is to facilitate early detection, prompt referral, and early habilitation of infants with significant, permanent hearing loss.
(2) Authority for the Newborn Hearing Screening program and promulgation of rules to implement the program are found in Section 26-10-6.
(1) "Hearing loss" means a dysfunction of the auditory system of any type or degree that is sufficient to interfere with the acquisition and development of speech and language skills.
(2) "Screening" means the completion of an objective, physiological test or battery of tests administered to determine the infant's hearing status and the need for further diagnostic testing by an audiologist or physician with the Department approved instrumentation, protocols and pass/refer criteria.
(3) "Auditory brainstem response" means an objective electrophysiologic measurement of the brainstem's response to acoustic stimulation of the ear.
(4) "Automated auditory brainstem response" means objective electrophysiologic measurement of the brainstem's response to acoustic stimulation of the ear, obtained with equipment which automatically provides a pass/refer outcome.
(5) "Evoked otoacoustic emissions" means a specific test method which elicits a physiologic response from the cochlea, and may include Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Distortion Products Otoacoustic Emissions test procedures.
(6) "Diagnostic procedures" means audiometric and medical procedures required to diagnose hearing loss.
(7) "Department" means the Utah Department of Health.
(8) "Audiologist" means a person who is licensed by the state where services are provided.
(9) "Follow-up" means appropriate services and procedures relating to the confirmation of hearing loss and appropriate referrals for newborn children with abnormal or inconclusive screening results.
(10) "Referral" means to direct a newborn to a health care professional for appropriate diagnostic procedures to diagnose and determine the existence and extent of a hearing loss; and for appropriate habilitation of a hearing loss.
(11) "Tracking" means the use of information about the infant's newborn hearing screening status to ensure that the infant receives timely and appropriate services to complete the screening and referral process.
(12) "Lost to follow-up" means those newborns who cannot be identified through tracking, and who have not completed the screening and referral process.
(13) "Institution" means a facility licensed by the State of Utah for birthing babies.
(14) "Primary care provider" means the newborn or infant's primary medical caregiver.
(15) "Parent" means a natural biological parent, a step-parent, adoptive parent, legal guardian, or other legal custodian of a child.
Each newborn in the state of Utah shall submit to the Newborn Hearing Screening testing, except as provided in Section 26-10-6(1).
(1) Each institution shall designate a person to be responsible for the newborn hearing screening program in that institution.
(2) An audiologist who is licensed by the State of Utah shall oversee each newborn hearing screening program. This audiologist may be full or part time, on or off site, an employee of the institution, or under contract or other arrangement that allows him/her to oversee the newborn hearing screening program. This audiologist shall advise the institution about all aspects of the newborn hearing screening program, including screening, tracking, follow-up, and referral for diagnosis.
(3) Beginning July 1, 1998, if the newborn is born in an institution with 100 or more births annually, and beginning July 1, 1999, if the newborn is born in an institution with less than 100 births annually, the institution must provide hearing screening services as required by this rule prior to discharge, unless the infant is transferred to another institution before screening is completed.
(4) Beginning July 1, 1998, if the newborn is transferred to another institution before screening is completed, the receiving institution must provide hearing screening services as required by this rule prior to discharge.
(5) Beginning July 1, 1999, if the newborn is born outside of an institution, the person in attendance at the birth must arrange for the infant's hearing screening as required by this rule.
(6) Beginning July 1, 1999, if there is no person in attendance at the birth, a parent must have the infant's hearing screened, according to Department protocols, by the time the infant is one month of age.
(7) Newborn hearing screening shall be performed by a person who is appropriately trained and supervised, according to rules as may be established by the Newborn Hearing Screening Committee.
(1) Institutions or persons primarily responsible for births shall provide information about newborn hearing screening to parents and primary care providers of newborns. This shall include:
(a) information, which shall be available to parents at the time of birth, about the purpose of newborn hearing screening, the procedures used for screening, the benefits of newborn hearing screening, and the consequences of hearing loss;
(b) whether each live birth was screened prior to discharge from the institution,
(c) the results of the completed newborn hearing screening procedure;
(d) what follow-up screening procedures, if any, are recommended and where those procedures can be obtained.
(2) For babies who require additional procedures to complete the screening after being discharged from the birthing institution, the institution shall provide parents and the primary care providers with written notice about the availability and importance of the additional screening procedures. For babies who do not complete additional hearing screening procedures, the institution shall send a second written notice to the parents and the primary care provider.
(3) For babies who do not pass the complete newborn hearing screening procedure, the institution or the provider who completes the screening procedure shall provide the parents and the primary care provider with written notice about the results of the screening, recommended diagnostic procedures, where those procedures can be obtained, and resources available for infants and toddlers with hearing loss.
(4) For babies who need additional procedures to complete the screening due to a missed test, inconclusive results, or a failure to pass, and who do not return for the needed screening procedures within 15 days, or for babies who are "lost to follow-up," the institution shall make reasonable efforts within 30 days to locate the parents and inform them of the need for a test. To be considered a reasonable effort, the institution must have documentation of at least two attempts to contact the infant's parents by mail or phone, and at least one attempt to contact the infant's primary care provider. If necessary, the institution must use information available from its own records, adoption agencies, and the newborn's primary care provider. Contact with the parent may be made by mail, telephone, primary care provider, or public health worker.
(1) All institutions or persons in attendance at births shall submit information to the Department about the newborn hearing screening procedures being used, the results of the screening, and other information necessary to ensure timely referral where necessary. This information shall be provided to the Department at least monthly. This information shall include:
(a) for each live birth, identifying information for the baby and the hearing screening status, e.g., passed, referred, refused, missed, transferred;
(b) for babies who did not pass the newborn hearing screening or who were not screened, the mother's name, address, telephone number if known, and primary care provider;
(c) any information the institution or practitioner has about the results of follow-up screening or diagnostic procedures, including whether the infant has been "lost to follow-up."
(2) All institutions or persons in attendance at births shall submit information to the Department a summary of the procedures used by the institution or screening program to do newborn hearing screening, including the name of the program director, equipment, screening protocols, referral criteria, and parent education materials. This information shall be provided to the Utah Department of Health bi-annually and within 30 days of any changes to the existing procedures.
(3) Persons who conduct any procedure necessary to complete an infant's hearing screening or audiological diagnostic assessment as a result of a referral from an institution or primary care provider, shall report the results of these procedures to the institution where the infant was born and to the Department.
(4) The Utah Department of Health shall have access to infant's medical records to obtain information necessary to ensure the provision of timely and appropriate follow-up diagnostic and intervention services.
Any person who violates any provision of this rule may be assessed a penalty not to exceed the sum of $5,000 or be punished for violation of a class B misdemeanor for the first violation and for any subsequent similar violation within two years for violation of a class A misdemeanor as provided in Section 26-23-6.
newborn screening
September 1, 2001
July 3, 2003
26-10-6
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