N.Y. Public Health Law § 266: Department website

§ 266. Department website. 1. The department shall establish and

maintain an internet website for the purpose of advancing women's health

initiatives. The website shall provide information for the purposes of

educating the public and raising awareness of women's health issues,

provide links to useful resources and encourage the use of services now

made more widely available to the women of New York state. The website

shall also promote the following preventative services now covered

pursuant to federal law and regulation, and explain that such services

must be covered with no cost sharing:

(a) Anemia screening for pregnant women;

(b) Bacteriuria urinary tract or other infection screening for

pregnant women;

(c) BRCA counseling about genetic testing for women at higher risk;

(d) Breast cancer mammography screenings every one to two years for

women over age forty;

(e) Breast cancer chemoprevention counseling for women at higher risk;

(f) Breastfeeding comprehensive support and counseling from trained

providers, as well as access to breastfeeding supplies, for pregnant and

nursing women;

(g) Cervical cancer screening for sexually active women;

(h) Chlamydia infection screening for younger women and other women at

higher risk;

(i) Contraception: Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive

methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling,

not including abortifacient drugs;

(j) Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling for

all women;

(k) Folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant;

(l) Gestational diabetes screening for women twenty-four to

twenty-eight weeks pregnant and those at high risk of developing

gestational diabetes;

(m) Gonorrhea screening for all women at higher risk;

(n) Hepatitis B screening for pregnant women at their first prenatal

visit;

(o) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling for

sexually active women;

(p) Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA Test: high risk HPV DNA testing

every three years for women with normal cytology results who are thirty

years of age or older;

(q) Osteoporosis screening for women over age sixty depending on risk

factors;

(r) RH incompatibility screening for all pregnant women and follow-up

testing for women at higher risk;

(s) Tobacco use screening and interventions for all women, and

expanded counseling for pregnant tobacco users;

(t) Sexually transmitted infections (STI) counseling for sexually

active women;

(u) Syphilis screening for all pregnant women or other women at

increased risk; and

(v) Well-woman visits to obtain recommended preventive services.

2. The commissioner shall develop and update as necessary information

on possible complications from pregnancy that can endanger the life or

health of the newborn or the mother for purposes of advancing women's

health initiatives, pursuant to subdivision one of this section. Such

information shall be developed in consultation with any state or local

government maternal mortality review boards and health care providers or

other experts in the field of women and newborn health. Such information

shall be posted on the website in a printable format, in each of the top

six languages spoken in the state, other than English, according to the

latest available data from the United States Census Bureau, to allow all

general hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, obstetricians,

primary care providers, midwives, and other health care programs

providing women's wellness services to provide the information to their

patients as part of their wellness education or prenatal care

activities.

3. The department shall also consider making use of social media

networks for the purposes of advancing such initiatives.

4. Information pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall

include information related to pre-term labor and premature birth,

including but not limited to definitions and information on the risks of

pre-term labor and premature birth to the expectant mother and fetus, as

well as signs and symptoms of pre-term labor. The information shall also

include:

(a) a statement that the medical assistance program provides coverage

for all income-eligible pregnant women residing in the state regardless

of immigration status; and

(b) a statement informing individuals of their right to request a

hospital discharge review in accordance with section twenty-eight

hundred three-i of this article if they believe they are being asked to

leave a hospital too soon; and

(c) a statement informing individuals that hospitals must determine

whether an expectant mother is experiencing an emergency medical

condition, and upon making a diagnosis of an emergency medical

condition, admit the expectant mother to the general hospital or treat

them in the emergency room for close observation and continuous

monitoring until it is deemed medically safe for discharge or transfer

in accordance with state and federal requirements including the federal

Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

5. The department shall develop educational materials to be provided

to emergency room medical staff regarding the state and federal

discharge and transfer requirements.

6. Cytomegalovirus. (a) In addition to information provided pursuant

to this section, the commissioner shall also develop comprehensive

informational materials, which shall include, but not be limited to, the

symptoms, the risks, the transmission and the prevention of

cytomegalovirus and the effects that such virus may have on a pregnant

individual, an individual who may become pregnant, and children.

(b) i. The commissioner shall distribute such cytomegalovirus

informational materials to:

(1) licensed physicians who practice obstetric and/or gynecology in

this state; and

(2) those licensed to practice midwifery pursuant to article one

hundred forty of the education law.

ii. Such physicians or midwives shall provide the cytomegalovirus

informational materials to each pregnant patient during such patient's

first appointment with such physician or midwife.