This report originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News

State: New York Introduces Legislation on Ultrasound Administration

The New York State Assembly has introduced bill A05978, which changes the legal requirement for administration of ultrasounds. The bill provides that the administration of any ultrasound upon a pregnant woman would only be performed by an order or a referral by a physician, physician assistant, specialist assistant, nurse practitioner or midwife. This now prohibits any referrals and orders for entertainment purposes or any other purpose that is not due to the condition of the patient. A violation would constitute a class "A" misdemeanor as well as professional misconduct, prosecution by the Attorney General, and grounds for a cease and desist order.

According to the justification detailed in the legislation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned women about the potential dangers of having ultrasounds performed in facilities offering "keepsake" videos of a fetus for entertainment purposes. The high resolution ultrasound offered by these businesses has been brought to the attention of the FDA's Office of Science and Technology. Because the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound exposures on the fetus are not fully known, any unnecessary exposure to ultrasound machines is discouraged, especially if the facility is in the entertainment industry rather than the medical community. The legislation justification also says there may be a problem of women mistaking a keepsake video performed for entertainment purposes as a form of medical reassurance of a healthy pregnancy and forsaking essential care and diagnosis by an obstetrician.

National: Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act Introduced

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and eleven co-sponsors have just introduced H.R. 2132, which would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Rep. Maloney had previously introduced the amendment in 2007. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires covered employers to grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for applicable health and medical related-reasons. The new amendment does not change the act but expands coverage-it permits leave to care for a same-sex spouse, domestic partner (person recognized as the domestic partner of the employee under any domestic partner registry or civil union laws of the State or political subdivision of a State where the employee resides), parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent who has a serious health condition.

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