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92_SB1837
LRB9212286LBpr
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, subject to appropriation,
11 shall:
12 (1) Establish and promote hepatitis C education
13 programs as an integral part of its health promotion and
14 disease prevention efforts in order to raise public
15 awareness, educate consumers, and educate and train
16 health care professionals and human services providers.
17 (2) Identify resources for hepatitis C education,
18 screening, and treatment and coordinate the efforts of
19 existing organizations with new programs and with each
20 other so as to maximize education and access to services.
21 Section 15. Awareness, diagnosis, and treatment
22 strategies. The Department may use the following strategies
23 for raising public awareness of the causes, including
24 personal risk factors, and the nature of hepatitis C, the
25 value of prevention and early detection, and options for
26 diagnosing and treating the disease:
27 (1) An outreach campaign utilizing print, radio,
28 and television public service announcements,
29 advertisements, posters, and other materials.
-2- LRB9212286LBpr
1 (2) Community forums.
2 (3) Health information and risk factor assessment
3 at public events.
4 (4) Targeting at-risk populations.
5 (5) Providing reliable information to policy
6 makers.
7 (6) Distributing information through local health
8 agencies, schools, employer wellness programs,
9 physicians, hospitals, health maintenance organizations,
10 prisons, sports leagues, nonprofit organizations,
11 community-based organizations, State fairs, and
12 Department and local public health offices.
13 (7) Identifying and obtaining educational
14 materials, including brochures and videotapes that
15 translate accurately the latest scientific information on
16 hepatitis C in easy-to-understand terms.
17 (8) Building a statewide capacity to provide
18 information and referrals on all aspects of hepatitis C,
19 including but not limited to, educational materials,
20 counseling, and patient support groups.
21 Section 20. Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and
22 therapeutic decision-making. The Department shall use the
23 strategies, protocols, and guidelines adopted by the National
24 Institutes of Health on hepatitis C for educating physicians
25 and health professionals and training providers on the most
26 recent scientific and medical information on hepatitis C
27 detection, diagnosis, treatment, and therapeutic
28 decision-making.