Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1799LL – Treatment or examination of minors
(a) A parent, guardian or other caregiver, or an adult staff member, shall be present when a person licensed to practice midwifery under this chapter provides outpatient treatment to a minor client who is disrobed or partially disrobed or during an outpatient physical examination involving the breasts, genitalia or rectum, regardless of sex of the licensed person and client, except when rendering care during an emergency. When using an adult staff member to observe the treatment or examination, the adult staff member shall be of the same gender as the client when practicable. The minor client may decline the presence of a third person only with consent of a parent, guardian or other caregiver. The minor client may request private consultation with the person licensed to practice midwifery without the presence of a third person after the physical examination. Every hospital and nursing facility and similar facility that provides treatment to minors shall develop and implement policies regarding the treatment of minor clients that are consistent with the purposes of this section and will submit those policies for approval by the Department of Health and Social Services. Violations of approved policies will be treated as a violation of this section.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1799LL
- Child: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Client: means a woman under the care of a midwife and, when applicable in the context of care, the newborn. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1799FF
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Midwifery: means the practice of providing supervision, care, and advice to a client during prepartum, pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum periods, and conducting deliveries on the midwife's own responsibility or in collaboration with a licensed physician, or licensed Delaware health-care delivery system. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1799FF
(b) When a minor client is to be disrobed, partially disrobed or will undergo a physical examination involving the breasts, genitalia or rectum, a person licensed to practice midwifery under this chapter shall provide notice to the person providing consent to treatment of the rights under this section. The notice shall be provided in written form or be conspicuously posted in a manner in which a minor client and the minor client’s parent, guardian or other caregiver are made aware of the notice. In circumstances in which the posting or the provision to the client of the written notice would not convey the right to have a chaperone present, the person licensed to practice midwifery shall use another means to ensure that the client or person understands the right under this section.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “minor” is defined as a person 15 years of age or younger, “adult staff member” is defined as a person 18 years of age or older who acting under the direction of the licensed person or the employer of the licensed person or who is otherwise licensed under this chapter, “hospital” has the meaning prescribed by Chapter 10 of Title 16, and “nursing facility and similar facility” has the meaning prescribed by Chapter 11 of Title 16.
(d) The person licensed under this chapter that provides outpatient treatment to a minor pursuant to this section shall, contemporaneously with such treatment, note in the child‘s medical record the name of each person present when such treatment is being provided.