KRS 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 information program may be incorporated into other existing

health education programs. The Department for Public Health may make

available on its Internet Web site protocols, guidelines, and materials for

hepatitis C education, awareness, and information programs that increase the

understanding of the disease among 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,

including but not limited to law enforcement officials, corrections personnel,

prisoners, veterans, individuals who received blood transfusions prior to 1992,

hemophiliacs, students, and minority communities. The program may utilize

education materials developed by health-related companies and

community-based or national advocacy organizations. The program may

include but not be limited to 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 University of Louisville School of Medicine, the Pikeville College School of

Osteopathic Medicine, the American Liver Foundation, the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, and any other scientific, medical, or advocacy

organizations to develop the protocols and guidelines for the hepatitis C

education, awareness, and information program. The protocols and guidelines

may include but are not limited to the following:

(a) The risk factors associated with hepatitis C acquisition and transmission;

(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;

(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 for the hepatitis C education, awareness, and information

program. The protocols and guidelines established by the Department for

Public Health, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Veterans'

Affairs may include topics specified in subsection (3) of this section and may

include but are not limited to protocols within state agencies to enable

departments to provide appropriate treatment for individuals with hepatitis C,

protocols for the education of state agency officials and other employees who

work with individuals with hepatitis C, and protocols within the Department of

Corrections to provide written hepatitis C information to prisoners on the date

of their probation, parole, or release.

(5) The Department for Public Health shall make information on the hepatitis C

education, awareness, and information program available upon request.