(a) Every newborn delivered in a hospital, maternity center, or home shall be screened for critical congenital heart disease using pulse oximetry until an alternative test for critical congenital heart disease is adopted by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

(b)(1) Each hospital, maternity center, and nurse-midwife shall:

(A) Inform and educate the parent of the purpose and availability of critical congenital heart disease screening (“screening”);

(B) Perform the screening unless the procedure is refused based on the parent’s religious or personal beliefs;

(C) Document the screening results or the parent’s refusal to allow the screening;

(D) Provide the screening results to the parent of the newborn and, if known, the newborn’s primary care provider;

(E) When a newborn tests positive for critical congenital heart disease, provide recommendations for follow-up testing and treatment to the parent of the newborn and, if known, the newborn’s primary care provider; and

(F) On a quarterly basis, notify the Department of Health of the number of infants screened for critical congenital heart disease, the results of those screenings, and any documented parental refusal based on religious or personal beliefs.

(2) Screening results shall include, at minimum, the age of the infant at the time of screening, actual screening values, and the final interpretation of the results.

(c) The screening required by subsection (a) of this section shall be performed in a manner consistent with the standards of the American Academy of Pediatrics for critical congenital heart disease.

(Sept. 17, 2015, D.C. Law 21-20, § 3, 62 DCR 8845.)