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91_HB2842eng HB2842 Engrossed LRB9105209SMdv 1 AN ACT regarding hepatitis C screening and awareness. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section. 1. This Act may be cited as the Hepatitis C 5 Screening and Awareness Act. 6 Section 5. Definition. As used in this Act: 7 "Department" means the Illinois Department of Public 8 Health. 9 Section 10. Education programs and resource 10 identification. The Department shall: 11 (1) Establish and promote hepatitis C education 12 programs as an integral part of its health promotion and 13 disease prevention efforts in order to raise public 14 awareness, educate consumers, and educate and train 15 health care professionals and human services providers. 16 (2) Identify resources for hepatitis C education, 17 screening, and treatment and coordinate the efforts of 18 existing organizations with new programs and with each 19 other so as to maximize education and access to services. 20 Section 15. Awareness, diagnosis, and treatment 21 strategies. The Department may use the following strategies 22 for raising public awareness of the causes, including 23 personal risk factors, and the nature of hepatitis C, the 24 value of prevention and early detection, and options for 25 diagnosing and treating the disease: 26 (1) An outreach campaign utilizing print, radio, 27 and television public service announcements, 28 advertisements, posters, and other materials. 29 (2) Community forums. HB2842 Engrossed -2- LRB9105209SMdv 1 (3) Health information and risk factor assessment 2 at public events. 3 (4) Targeting at-risk populations. 4 (5) Providing reliable information to policy 5 makers. 6 (6) Distributing information through local health 7 agencies, schools, employer wellness programs, 8 physicians, hospitals, health maintenance organizations, 9 prisons, sports leagues, nonprofit organizations, 10 community-based organizations, State fairs, and 11 Department and local public health offices. 12 (7) Identifying and obtaining educational 13 materials, including brochures and videotapes that 14 translate accurately the latest scientific information on 15 hepatitis C in easy-to-understand terms. 16 (8) Building a statewide capacity to provide 17 information and referrals on all aspects of hepatitis C, 18 including but not limited to, educational materials, 19 counseling, and patient support groups. 20 Section 20. Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and 21 therapeutic decision-making. The Department shall use the 22 strategies, protocols, and guidelines adopted by the National 23 Institutes of Health on hepatitis C for educating physicians 24 and health professionals and training providers on the most 25 recent scientific and medical information on hepatitis C 26 detection, diagnosis, treatment, and therapeutic 27 decision-making. The guidelines may include, but not be 28 limited to, the following: 29 (1) Tracking and reporting of both acute and 30 chronic cases of hepatitis C by public health officials. 31 (2) A cost-efficient plan to screen the prison 32 population. 33 (3) Protocols that may be used within the HB2842 Engrossed -3- LRB9105209SMdv 1 Department of Corrections to enable that Department to 2 provide appropriate treatment to prisoners with hepatitis 3 C. 4 (4) Protocols for the education of correctional 5 officers and other correctional workers who work with 6 prisoners with hepatitis C. 7 (5) Protocols for public safety and the problem of 8 health care workers who come in contact with hepatitis C 9 patients. 10 Section 25. Required hepatitis C screenings. The 11 following persons shall be screened for hepatitis C using the 12 most cost-efficient methods available and using generally 13 accepted protocols for screening: 14 (1) Psychiatric patients entering a State mental 15 health or developmental disabilities facility. 16 (2) Department of Corrections employees who come in 17 direct contact with prisoners. 18 (3) Prisoners entering State correctional 19 institutions or facilities. 20 (4) Employees of a State mental health or 21 developmental disabilities facility who come into direct 22 contact with patients of that facility.