Massachusetts is the latest state to pass legislation requiring that newborns be screened for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) before being discharged from a birthing facility or hospital. S.B. 1919 directs the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) to develop regulations for pulse oximetry testing for CCHD. The law also provides future flexibility by permitting the department to approve another test for CCHD screening if that test is at least as accurate, widely available and cost-effective as pulse oximetry screening. The MDPH regulations must consider evidence-based guidance, including recommendations issued by the federal Health and Human Services Discretionary Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children. Should the parent or guardian object to having their newborn screened based upon "sincerely held religious beliefs" pulse oximetry testing will not be performed. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2015 or earlier depending upon issuance of the regulations. Finally, the MDPH must review the protocols required by S.B. 1919 and the implementation of these protocols as part of its hospital licensure and birthing facility licensure review processes. Read up on other states that have recently passed CCHD screening legislation.

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