Minnesota Administrative Rules

4700.2210 MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR FAMILY PLANNING SERVICE COMPONENTS.

An applicant is not required to provide all components to be eligible for funding. However, the applicant must make available the names and addresses of other family planning services provider agencies in the geographic area, if any, who offer components and services not offered by the applicant.

All funded projects must establish linkages to facilitate access to outreach, counseling, and other component services for service recipients.

Procedures for referral and follow-up must be incorporated into all services that are provided by the applicant on a one-to-one basis.

The provision of all service components except public information shall include information on family planning services available from the applicant.

Service components to be provided by the applicant shall be defined by, and shall meet or exceed, the following minimum standards:

A.

Public information must include specific activities designed to inform the general population about family planning and how to obtain information on all family planning service components available in the geographic area.

B.

Outreach must include specific activities designed to inform members of the target population about family planning and all the family planning service components available in the geographic area. Outreach activities shall include one-to-one or small group contacts with the target population.

Outreach must be conducted at times and places convenient to the target population. Persons conducting outreach shall have training or experience in family planning services.

C.

Counseling must include utilization of nondirective techniques in a decision-making format which enables individuals to voluntarily determine their participation in family planning services and their family planning method of choice, if any. "Nondirective techniques" means techniques that employ open-ended questions to enable individuals to consider their feelings, attitudes, and values about alternatives and outcomes. A decision-making format means a format that allows individuals to consider alternatives and outcomes, weigh advantages and disadvantages, and make choices.

When individuals are seeking to prevent pregnancy, counseling shall include the provision and explanation of factual information on all family planning pregnancy prevention methods in a nonjudgmental manner. "Nonjudgmental manner" means a manner in which the counselor's personal values and beliefs do not interfere with the client's choices.

When individuals are seeking to attain pregnancy, counseling shall include the provision and explanation of factual information on infertility diagnosis and treatment and services for pregnant women available in the geographic area.

Counseling shall be available to any individual in the target population and shall be conducted at times and places convenient to the target population.

Counseling shall include documentation that information required in Minnesota Statutes, section 145.925, has been provided. Counseling shall be conducted by persons with training or experience in counseling and family planning services.

D.

Method must include the provision to a service recipient of the recipient's family planning method of choice. Provision of any family planning method must include:

(1)

procedures which document that the service recipient participated in counseling prior to selecting a family planning method to prevent pregnancy;

(2)

voluntary selection of the family planning method by the service recipient;

(3)

information on the advisability of females obtaining a gynecological examination with Pap smear prior to initiating any family planning method;

(4)

education on the use of the selected family planning method, including the risks and benefits of the method; and

(5)

medical/laboratory services prior to the provision of a family planning method when the selected method requires medical intervention for prescription, fitting, insertion, or for surgical or diagnostic procedures. When the selected method does not require medical intervention, as described herein, the applicant shall encourage service recipients to obtain medical/laboratory services, but provision by the applicant is not required. Medical/laboratory services shall include:

(a)

social and medical/surgical history with emphasis on the reproductive system;

(b)

height, weight, and blood pressure measures;

(c)

bimanual pelvic examination for females;

(d)

breast examination and instruction on self-examination for females;

(e)

hemoglobin or hematocrit;

(f)

urinalysis for sugar and protein;

(g)

Pap smear; and

(h)

when indicated by history or symptoms, for both male and female as appropriate, diagnosis and curative treatment of venereal disease, diagnosis and treatment of vaginitis, diagnosis of pregnancy, and for females, as appropriate, provision of rubella immunization.

Medical services shall be rendered by licensed physicians, or professional nurses with documentable training in gynecological care conducted under the supervision of a licensed physician, or nurse midwives certified by the American College of Nurse Midwifery, or physician assistants, under the supervision of a licensed physician. Laboratory tests shall be conducted by personnel trained to conduct such tests.

E.

Referral must include the provision, in writing, of information to service recipients which enables them to participate in family planning and other needed health and human services. Documentation of referrals must be maintained.

F.

Follow-up must include specific procedures of continuing care designed to encourage safe and consistent utilization of family planning and other needed health and human services, using protocols based on accepted professional standards of care.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 145.925; 144.05

History:

12 SR 1562; L 2014 c 291 art 4 s 58

Published Electronically:

July 3, 2014