Public health: hepatitis C.

Existing law, the Hepatitis C Education, Screening, and Treatment Act, sets forth provisions pertaining to education and outreach related to hepatitis C, as specified. The act sets forth findings, declarations, and the intent of the Legislature with regard to these provisions, and requires the Director of Public Health to, among other things, develop and implement a public education and outreach program to raise awareness of the hepatitis C virus aimed at high-risk groups, physician's offices, health care workers, and health care facilities. This bill would, until January 1, 2023, require a primary care clinic to offer each patient who receives primary care services in the clinic, and conduct upon agreement, a hepatitis C screening or diagnostic test, as specified, and would specify the manner in which the results of that test are provided. These requirements would not apply if the patient has taken a hepatitis C screening or diagnostic test, if the patient has been offered a hepatitis C screening or diagnostic test and declined the test within the primary care clinic within the previous 12 months, or to an individual receiving primary care services in a hospital or emergency room setting. The bill would add additional findings and declarations, including that hepatitis C is the most common bloodborne pathogen in the United States, and is a leading cause of complications from chronic liver disease.