§ 1755. Universal testing

(a) All health care providers who provide primary health care to children shall test children one and two years of age for elevated blood lead levels in accordance with rules adopted by the Commissioner.

(b) [Repealed.]

(c) All health care providers who provide primary medical care shall ensure that parents and guardians of children six years of age or younger are advised of the availability and advisability of screening and testing their children for lead in accordance with the Commissioner’s guidelines. No health care provider shall be liable for not performing a screening or confirmation test for blood lead level when a parent or guardian has refused to consent or has failed to follow through in response to a referral for a screening or confirmation test. Not later than 120 days after the Department has notified health care providers that it has implemented lead screening reports within the immunization registry, a health care provider shall report to the Department regarding lead screening of children ages one and two pursuant to the guidelines in subsection (a) of this section in a form and as required by the Department.

(d) Any laboratory that analyzes blood samples of Vermont residents for lead levels shall report to the Department all information required by the Department. All health care providers who analyze blood samples for lead levels or who use laboratories outside Vermont to analyze blood samples for lead levels shall report all information required by the Department to the Department immediately by telephone if the result of any analysis is 45 micrograms or more of lead per deciliter of blood, or by electronic means within 14 days after analysis if the result of the analysis is less than 45 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. All blood lead data reports to the Department shall include the name, date of birth, date of blood test, and address of the individual whose blood is analyzed and, if known, the owner of the residence of the individual.

(e) Not later than 120 days after the Department has notified laboratories that it has implemented lead screening reports within the immunization registry, a laboratory shall report to the Department regarding lead screening of children ages one and two pursuant to the guidelines in subsection (a) of this section in a form and as required by the Department. (Added 1993, No. 94, § 3; amended 1995, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 38(a); 2007, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 28; 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 92; 2017, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. October 21, 2022; 2023, No. 6, § 126, eff. July 1, 2023.)