S.C. Code Regs. § § 61-114.C

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 10, October 25, 2024

Section 61-114.C - Public Health Surveillance and Monitoring of Birth Defects

1. The Department shall conduct statewide monitoring of all major structural birth defects using active surveillance methods to ascertain cases. This monitoring may be both prenatal and postnatal (up to two years of age) and shall include live births and fetal deaths occurring in South Carolina. South Carolina Birth Defects Program Nurse Abstractors will conduct active surveillance at all hospitals in South Carolina that provide obstetrical or pediatric care for case identification and abstraction. Hospitals and other medical facilities will provide, upon request, access to medical records containing ICD-9-CM diagnostic code categories in the range of birth defects codes recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN) for surveillance. The categories of ICD-9-CM codes for birth defects includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a. Central nervous system disorders

b. Eye and ear disorders

c. Cardiovascular disorders

d. Orofacial disorders

e. Gastrointestinal disorders

f. Genitourinary disorders

g. Musculoskeletal disorders

h. Chromosomal disorders

i. Other disorders to include Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Amniotic bands

j. ICD-9-CM codes regarding known or suspected fetal abnormality affecting management of mother.

2. The birth defects surveillance system will be implemented by phasing in additional birth defect categories until all CDC recommended types of birth defects are monitored.

3. Birth defects case abstraction information will include demographic data on the child, mother and father, if available.

4. The Department shall maintain a central database of all birth defects data gathered from hospitals, specialty clinics and other facilities, regarding births, pregnancies, stillbirths, and pediatric deaths through age two, throughout the state, including border regions.

5. The Department may enter into agreements with other states, health care facilities, and other entities in order to conduct monitoring of birth defects.

6. Monitoring

a. Upon request, the Department shall have access to all records of parent(s), child, and siblings if necessary, for the purpose of identifying birth defects, including vital records, hospital medical records, physician office medical records, specialty clinic records, and discharge data, in order to identify birth defect cases. The Department shall verify the cases through records review and may include review by a physician geneticist.

b. For the purpose of surveillance and identification of birth defects, all laboratories, universities, and other sources of birth defects information shall provide the Department access to all health, medical, or other records, upon request.

c. Access to all records described herein may be granted in hard copy or electronically.

S.C. Code Regs. § 61-114.C