2011 Minnesota Statutes

144.125 TESTS OF INFANTS FOR HERITABLE AND CONGENITAL DISORDERS.

Subdivision 1.Duty to perform testing.

It is the duty of (1) the administrative officer or other person in charge of each institution caring for infants 28 days or less of age, (2) the person required in pursuance of the provisions of section 144.215, to register the birth of a child, or (3) the nurse midwife or midwife in attendance at the birth, to arrange to have administered to every infant or child in its care tests for heritable and congenital disorders according to subdivision 2 and rules prescribed by the state commissioner of health. Testing and the recording and reporting of test results shall be performed at the times and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner of health. The commissioner shall charge a fee so that the total of fees collected will approximate the costs of conducting the tests and implementing and maintaining a system to follow-up infants with heritable or congenital disorders, including hearing loss detected through the early hearing detection and intervention program under section 144.966. The fee is $101 per specimen. Effective July 1, 2010, the fee shall be increased to $106 per specimen. The increased fee amount shall be deposited in the general fund. Costs associated with capital expenditures and the development of new procedures may be prorated over a three-year period when calculating the amount of the fees.

Subd. 2.Determination of tests to be administered.

The commissioner shall periodically revise the list of tests to be administered for determining the presence of a heritable or congenital disorder. Revisions to the list shall reflect advances in medical science, new and improved testing methods, or other factors that will improve the public health. In determining whether a test must be administered, the commissioner shall take into consideration the adequacy of analytical methods to detect the heritable or congenital disorder, the ability to treat or prevent medical conditions caused by the heritable or congenital disorder, and the severity of the medical conditions caused by the heritable or congenital disorder. The list of tests to be performed may be revised if the changes are recommended by the advisory committee established under section 144.1255, approved by the commissioner, and published in the State Register. The revision is exempt from the rulemaking requirements in chapter 14, and sections 14.385 and 14.386do not apply.

Subd. 3.Objection of parents to test.

Persons with a duty to perform testing under subdivision 1 shall advise parents of infants (1) that the blood or tissue samples used to perform testing thereunder as well as the results of such testing may be retained by the Department of Health, (2) the benefit of retaining the blood or tissue sample, and (3) that the following options are available to them with respect to the testing: (i) to decline to have the tests, or (ii) to elect to have the tests but to require that all blood samples and records of test results be destroyed within 24 months of the testing. If the parents of an infant object in writing to testing for heritable and congenital disorders or elect to require that blood samples and test results be destroyed, the objection or election shall be recorded on a form that is signed by a parent or legal guardian and made part of the infant's medical record. A written objection exempts an infant from the requirements of this section and section 144.128.

History:

1965 c 205 s 1; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 75; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 689 art 2 s 31; 1994 c 636 art 2 s 2; 1997 c 203 art 2 s 11; 1997 c 205 s 19; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 7 s 26; 2007 c 147 art 16 s 7; 2009 c 79 art 10 s 5