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214.187 Statewide hepatitis C education, awareness, and information program.

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Page 1 of 2 214.187 Statewide hepatitis C education, awareness, and information program. (1) The Department for Public Health shall develop a statewide education, awareness, and information program on hepatitis C. The hepatitis C education, awareness, and <br>information program may be incorporated into other existing health education <br>programs. The Department for Public Health may make available on its Internet <br>Web site protocols, guidelines, and materials for hepatitis C education, awareness, <br>and information programs that increase the understanding of the disease among <br>general and high-risk populations. (2) The hepatitis C education, awareness, and information program may include material to specifically address individuals who may be at high risk of infection, <br>including but not limited to law enforcement officials, corrections personnel, <br>prisoners, veterans, individuals who received blood transfusions prior to 1992, <br>hemophiliacs, students, and minority communities. The program may utilize <br>education materials developed by health-related companies and community-based <br>or national advocacy organizations. The program may include but not be limited to <br>counseling, patient support groups, and existing hotlines for consumers. (3) In developing the hepatitis C education, awareness, and information program, the department shall consult the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the <br>University of Louisville School of Medicine, the Pikeville College School of <br>Osteopathic Medicine, the American Liver Foundation, the Centers for Disease <br>Control and Prevention, and any other scientific, medical, or advocacy <br>organizations to develop the protocols and guidelines for the hepatitis C education, <br>awareness, and information program. The protocols and guidelines may include but <br>are not limited to the following: <br>(a) The risk factors associated with hepatitis C acquisition and transmission; <br>(b) The most recent scientific and medical information on hepatitis C prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and therapeutic decision making; (c) Tracking and reporting of acute cases of hepatitis C by public health officials; <br>(d) Protocols for public safety and health care workers who come in contact with hepatitis C patients; and (e) Surveillance programs to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C in ethnic and other high-risk populations. (4) The Department for Public Health may coordinate with the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Corrections to establish specific recommendations <br>for the hepatitis C education, awareness, and information program. The protocols <br>and guidelines established by the Department for Public Health, the Department of <br>Corrections, and the Department of Veterans' Affairs may include topics specified <br>in subsection (3) of this section and may include but are not limited to protocols <br>within state agencies to enable departments to provide appropriate treatment for <br>individuals with hepatitis C, protocols for the education of state agency officials and <br>other employees who work with individuals with hepatitis C, and protocols within <br>the Department of Corrections to provide written hepatitis C information to <br>prisoners on the date of their probation, parole, or release. Page 2 of 2 (5) The Department for Public Health shall report on the hepatitis C education, awareness, and information program to the Interim Joint Committee on Health and <br>Welfare by December 1, 2006, and every six (6) months thereafter, or upon request <br>of the committee. Effective: July 12, 2006 <br>History: Created 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 133, sec. 1, effective July 12, 2006.