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Utah Summary of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Legislation
Issue Excerpts from Legislation/Rules & Regulations
Year Passed    SB 40 (Year 1998) / Rules (R398-2. Newborn Hearing Screening)
Full
Implementation by:
July 1, 1999 Rules: R398-2-4. Responsibility for Screening.

(5) Beginning July 1, 1999, if the newborn is born outside of an institution, the person in attendance at the birth must arrange for the infant ' s hearing screening as required by this rule.

(6) Beginning July 1, 1999, if there is no person inattendance at the birth, a parent must have the infant's hearing screened, 'according to Department protocols, by the time he infant is three months of age.

[Source: R398-2. Newborn Hearing Screening]

Requires
Screening of:
All Babies Statute: 26-10-6. Testing of newborn infants. (1) Except as provided in Section 26-23-10, each newborn infant shall be tested for: … (c) hearing loss.

Source: SB 0040, 1998

Rule: R3 98-2-3. Implementation. Each newborn in the state of Utah shall submit to the Newborn Hearing Screening testing, except as provided in Section 26-10-6(1).

R398-2-4. Responsibility for Screening

(3) Beginning July 1, 1998, if the newborn is born in an institution with 100 or more births annually, and beginning July 1, 1999, if the newborn is born in an institution with less than 100 births annually, the institution must provide hearing screening services as required by this rule prior to discharge, unless the infant is transferred to another institution before screening is completed.

(4) Beginning July 1, 1998, if the newborn is transferred to another institution before screening is completed, the receiving institution must provide hearing screening services as required by this rule prior to discharge.

(5) Beginning July 1, 1999, if the newborn is born outside of an institution, the person in attendance at the birth must arrange for the infant' s hearing screening as required by this rule.

(6) Beginning July 1, 1999, if there is no person in attendance at the birth, a parent must have the infant's hearing screened, 'according to Department protocols, by the time he infant is three months of age.

(7) Newborn hearing screening shall be performed by a person who is appropriately trained and supervised, according to rules as may be established by the Newborn Hearing Screening Committee.

Source: R398-2. Newborn Hearing Screening

Advisory Committee
Established?
Yes Statute: 26-10-6. Testing of newborn infants.

(5) (a) There is established the Newborn Hearing Screening Committee. (b) The committee shall advise the department on: (i) the validity and cost of newborn infant hearing loss testing procedures; and (ii) rules promulgated by the department to implement this section.

Source: SB 0040, 1998

Covered Benefit of Health Insurance?    
Report to
State DOH
Yes Statute: 26-10-6. Testing of newborn infants. (4) (a) Results of tests for hearing loss under Subsection (1) shall be reported to the department.

Source: SB 0040, 1998

Rule: R3 98-2-6. Reporting to Utah Department of Health. (1) All institutions or persons in attendance at births shall submit information to the Department about the newborn hearing screening procedures being used, the results of the screening, and other information necessary to ensure timely referral where necessary. This information shall be provided to the Department at least monthly. This information shall include:

(a) for each live birth, identifying information for the baby and the hearing screening status, e.g., passed, referred, refused, missed, transferred;

(b) for babies who did not pass the newborn hearing screening or who were not screened, the mother's name, address, telephone number if known, and primary care provider;

(c) any information the institution or practitioner has about the results of follow-up screening or diagnostic procedures, including whether the infant has been "lost to follow-up."

(3) Persons who conduct any procedure necessary to complete an infant's hearing screening as a result of a referral from an institution or primary care provider, shall report the results of these procedures to the institution where the infant was born.

(4) The Utah Department of Health shall have access to infant's medical records to obtain information necessary to ensure the provision of timely and appropriate follow-up diagnostic and intervention services.

Source: R398-2. Newborn Hearing Screening

Provision of
Educational
Materials?
Yes Rule: R3 98-2-5. Information to Parents and. Primary Care Providers. (1) Institutions or persons primarily responsible for births shall provide information about newborn hearing screening to parents and primary care providers of newborns. This shall include: (a) information, which shall be available to parents at the time of birth, about the purpose of newborn hearing screening, the procedures used for screening, the benefits of newborn hearing screening, and the consequences of hearing loss; (b) whether each live birth was screened prior to discharge from the institution, (c) the results of the completed newborn hearing screening procedure;(d) what follow-up screening procedures, if any, are recommended and where those procedures can be obtained. (2) For babies who require additional procedures to complete the screening after being discharged from the birthing institution, the institution shall provide parents and the primary care providers with written notice about the availability and importance of the additional screening procedures. For babies who do not complete additional hearing screening procedures, the institution shall send a second written notice to the parents and the primary care provider.

Source: R398-2 Newborn Hearing Screening

Informed Consent by Parents?    
Liability Immunity?    
Parental Objection Exclusion? Yes  
Hearing Impairment Defined? Yes

Definition R398-2-2. Definitions.
(1) “Hearing loss” means a dysfunction of the auditory system of any type or degree that is sufficient to interfere with the acquisition and development of speech and language skills.

Source: R398-2. Newborn Hearing Screening

National Center for Hearing Assessment & Management
Utah State University - 2615 Old Main Hill - Logan, Utah 84322
Tel: 435.797.3584
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