124111-124112
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 124111-124112
124111. (a) The Newborn Eye Pathology Screening Task Force is established and shall advise the State Department of Health Services on the newborn eye pathology screening protocol. (b) The task force shall be composed of the following 12 members: (1) The Director of Health Services as a nonvoting ex officio member. (2) The 11 voting members shall be appointed by the Director of Health Services as follows: (A) One ophthalmologist with a background in or knowledge of providing services to infants with retinoblastoma. (B) One pediatric ophthalmologist who sees general pediatric patients and is a designee of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. (C) One academic pediatrician with a background in or knowledge of infant eye pathology screening. (D) One parent representing families with a child with blindness or other ocular abnormalities affecting vision. (E) One representative from the California Academy of Family Physicians. (F) One representative recommended by the State Department of Health Services. (G) One representative from the American Academy of Pediatrics, California District. (H) One community pediatrician with a background in or experience with the routine instillation of dilating eye drops as part of red reflex screening. (I) One nurse with a background in or knowledge of the current department program for the instillation of eye drops to prevent conjunctivitis. (J) One retinal specialist with research experience in detecting the signs of treatable congenital eye disease. (K) One optometrist with a background in or experience with pupil dilation in infants and red reflex screening for intraocular pathology. (c) Task force members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of the task force. 124112. (a) On or before June 30, 2002, the department shall adopt the protocol developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics to optimally detect the presence of treatable causes of blindness in infants by two months of age. If a protocol is not developed on or before June 30, 2002, the department, in consultation with representatives of the Newborn Eye Pathology Task Force, shall establish a protocol to optimally detect the presence of treatable causes of blindness in infants by two months of age on or before January 1, 2003. (b) If the American Academy of Pediatrics develops a protocol to optimally detect the presence of treatable causes of blindness by two months of age after the adoption of the protocol developed by the department, the department shall conform its protocol to the protocol adopted by the American Academy of Pediatrics. (c) Nothing in the section shall be construed to supersede the clinical judgment of the licensed health care provider. (d) Any screening examination recommended pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not be conducted on a newborn if a parent or guardian of the newborn objects to the examination on the grounds that the examination conflicts with the religious beliefs or practices of the parent or guardian.