Section 410IAC3-3-9. Newborn hearing screening responsibilities

   (a) The department's early hearing and detection intervention (EHDI) program is:

(1) located organizationally within the department's newborn screening program; and

(2) the program responsible for ensuring that all newborns or infants born in the state of Indiana receive appropriate newborn hearing screening and follow-up as necessary.

As the responsibilities, protocols, and reporting requirements for hearing screening differ from those for traditional heel-stick newborn screening, separate sections were created for newborn hearing screening.

  (b) As outlined in section 3 of this rule, all newborns and infants born in the state of Indiana shall be screened for hearing loss.

  (c) The department's EHDI program shall be the lead coordinating agency in Indiana responsible for development, implementation, and coordination of the EHDI system and oversight of the EHDI process. The department shall administer the EHDI program in a manner consistent with the 2007 joint committee on infant hearing (JCIH) position statement.

  (d) Hospitals, physicians, audiologists, and all other personnel shall comply with these timelines by assisting the department's EHDI program through early assessment, prompt referral, and prompt reporting via the specified reporting method or methods to the department's EHDI program.

  (e) Each hospital or birthing center shall do the following:

(1) Designate a person to be responsible for the universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) program in that facility. This person will act as the single point of contact between the hospital or birthing center and the department. This person shall ensure all personnel performing UNHS are appropriately trained and develop a quality assurance/performance improvement component of the hospital or birthing center's UNHS program to ensure compliance with all EHDI program rules, regulations, and guidelines.

(2) Make a reasonable effort to do the following:

(A) Perform newborn hearing screening for each newborn or infant prior to the newborn or infant's discharge.

(B) Rescreen newborns or infants that do not pass the initial newborn hearing screening prior to the newborn or infant's discharge.

(3) Report newborn hearing screening results to the newborn or infant's health care provider and to the department as specified in section 12 of this rule.

(Indiana State Department of Health; 410 IAC 3-3-9; filed Apr 25, 2012, 3:46 p.m.: 20120523-IR-410100504FRA)