§ 266 — Department website

§ 266. Department website. 1. The department shall establish and\nmaintain an internet website for the purpose of advancing women's health\ninitiatives. The website shall provide information for the purposes of\neducating the public and raising awareness of women's health issues,\nprovide links to useful resources and encourage the use of services now\nmade more widely available to the women of New York state. The website\nshall also promote the following preventative services now covered\npursuant to federal law and regulation, and explain that such services\nmust be covered with no cost sharing:\n (a) Anemia screening for pregnant women;\n (b) Bacteriuria urinary tract or other infection screening for\npregnant women;\n (c) BRCA counseling about genetic testing for women at higher risk;\n (d) Breast cancer mammography screenings every one to two years for\nwomen over age forty;\n (e) Breast cancer chemoprevention counseling for women at higher risk;\n (f) Breastfeeding comprehensive support and counseling from trained\nproviders, as well as access to breastfeeding supplies, for pregnant and\nnursing women;\n (g) Cervical cancer screening for sexually active women;\n (h) Chlamydia infection screening for younger women and other women at\nhigher risk;\n (i) Contraception: Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive\nmethods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling,\nnot including abortifacient drugs;\n (j) Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling for\nall women;\n (k) Folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant;\n (l) Gestational diabetes screening for women twenty-four to\ntwenty-eight weeks pregnant and those at high risk of developing\ngestational diabetes;\n (m) Gonorrhea screening for all women at higher risk;\n (n) Hepatitis B screening for pregnant women at their first prenatal\nvisit;\n (o) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling for\nsexually active women;\n (p) Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA Test: high risk HPV DNA testing\nevery three years for women with normal cytology results who are thirty\nyears of age or older;\n (q) Osteoporosis screening for women over age sixty depending on risk\nfactors;\n (r) RH incompatibility screening for all pregnant women and follow-up\ntesting for women at higher risk;\n (s) Tobacco use screening and interventions for all women, and\nexpanded counseling for pregnant tobacco users;\n (t) Sexually transmitted infections (STI) counseling for sexually\nactive women;\n (u) Syphilis screening for all pregnant women or other women at\nincreased risk; and\n (v) Well-woman visits to obtain recommended preventive services.\n 2. The commissioner shall develop and update as necessary information\non possible complications from pregnancy that can endanger the life or\nhealth of the newborn or the mother for purposes of advancing women's\nhealth initiatives, pursuant to subdivision one of this section. Such\ninformation shall be developed in consultation with any state or local\ngovernment maternal mortality review boards and health care providers or\nother experts in the field of women and newborn health. Such information\nshall be posted on the website in a printable format, in each of the top\nsix languages spoken in the state, other than English, according to the\nlatest available data from the United States Census Bureau, to allow all\ngeneral hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, obstetricians,\nprimary care providers, midwives, and other health care programs\nproviding women's wellness services to provide the information to their\npatients as part of their wellness education or prenatal care\nactivities.\n 3. The department shall also consider making use of social media\nnetworks for the purposes of advancing such initiatives.\n 4. Information pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall\ninclude information related to pre-term labor and premature birth,\nincluding but not limited to definitions and information on the risks of\npre-term labor and premature birth to the expectant mother and fetus, as\nwell as signs and symptoms of pre-term labor. The information shall also\ninclude:\n (a) a statement that the medical assistance program provides coverage\nfor all income-eligible pregnant women residing in the state regardless\nof immigration status; and\n (b) a statement informing individuals of their right to request a\nhospital discharge review in accordance with section twenty-eight\nhundred three-i of this article if they believe they are being asked to\nleave a hospital too soon; and\n (c) a statement informing individuals that hospitals must determine\nwhether an expectant mother is experiencing an emergency medical\ncondition, and upon making a diagnosis of an emergency medical\ncondition, admit the expectant mother to the general hospital or treat\nthem in the emergency room for close observation and continuous\nmonitoring until it is deemed medically safe for discharge or transfer\nin accordance with state and federal requirements including the federal\nEmergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).\n 5. The department shall develop educational materials to be provided\nto emergency room medical staff regarding the state and federal\ndischarge and transfer requirements.\n 6. Cytomegalovirus. (a) In addition to information provided pursuant\nto this section, the commissioner shall also develop comprehensive\ninformational materials, which shall include, but not be limited to, the\nsymptoms, the risks, the transmission and the prevention of\ncytomegalovirus and the effects that such virus may have on a pregnant\nindividual, an individual who may become pregnant, and children.\n (b) i. The commissioner shall distribute such cytomegalovirus\ninformational materials to:\n (1) licensed physicians who practice obstetric and/or gynecology in\nthis state; and\n (2) those licensed to practice midwifery pursuant to article one\nhundred forty of the education law.\n ii. Such physicians or midwives shall provide the cytomegalovirus\ninformational materials to each pregnant patient during such patient's\nfirst appointment with such physician or midwife.\n