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TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES |
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EDUARDO J.
SANCHEZ, M.D., M.P.H. COMMISSIONER |
1100 W. 49th Street •
Austin, Texas 78756 |
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March 15, 2006 Dear Colleague: The purpose of this letter is to inform you of proposed amendments to existing rules concerning Newborn Screening (NBS). These proposed amendments will be presented to the Department of State Health Services Council in May 2006. Pertinent events since the last rules revision: The Texas Legislature, 79th Regular Session, passed HB 790 mandating the expansion of newborn screening in Texas to screen for disorders in the core uniform panel of newborn screening conditions recommended in the 2005 report by the American College of Medical Genetics; and the National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center reviewed the department's newborn screening program and recommended that all first and second screens be linked. DSHS will be expanding newborn screening to include all tests in the recommend panel in the near future except for Cystic Fibrosis and biotinidase deficiency, which remain under discussion. To facilitate linking the first and second screens for each newborn, the proposed rule includes an alternate design for the newborn screening specimen collection kit and a new fee for this kit. The kit will consist of two bar-coded, quality controlled filter paper collection forms that are easily separated such that when the first specimen is collected, the remaining collection form and envelop will be given to the mother to take to the first doctor's visit for the collection of the second newborn screening specimen. The new fee for this 2-screen specimen collection kit will include the cost of the screens. This rule change does not mean that the department will implement the alternate design NBS specimen collection kit immediately. However, it does give the department the option to make this change in the future and to charge a fee to recover the cost of the 2-screen specimen collection kit. Comments or questions about the proposed rules can be addressed to Mrs. Sherry Clay, Quality Control Unit Manager in the Laboratory Services Section, 1100 W 49th St. Austin, TX 78756 or at 512-458-7318 ext. 2423 or Sincerely, Susan U. Neill, Ph.D., M.B.A.
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