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ontario regulation 537/22

made under the

Mandatory Blood Testing Act, 2006

Made: November 16, 2022
Filed: November 25, 2022
Published on e-Laws: November 25, 2022
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: December 10, 2022

Amending O. Reg. 449/07

(GENERAL)

1. (1) The definition of “Minister” in subsection 1 (2) of Ontario Regulation 449/07 is revoked.

(2) The definition of “occurrence” in subsection 1 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “his or her” and substituting “their”.

2. Section 2 of the Regulation is amended by striking out “his or her” and substituting “the respondent’s”.

3. (1) Subsection 4 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “seven days” and substituting “30 days”.

(2) Subsection 4 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “by one day” at the end and substituting “to the next business day”.

(3) Subsection 4 (5) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(5) The office of the medical officer of health that receives an application directly from the applicant shall record the date and time that it received the application and assign a unique file identifier and file number to it.

(4) Subsection 4 (7) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(7) An application that is faxed or sent by electronic transmission to an office of a medical officer of health is deemed to be received by that office,

(a)  on the day it is sent, if it is sent before 4 p.m. on a business day; or

(b)  on the next business day, if sent at any other time.

(5) Paragraph 2 of subsection 4 (8) of the Regulation is revoked.

4. (1) Clauses 5 (1) (a) and (b) of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

(a)  the applicant’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, OHIP number, age and date of birth;

(b)  the respondent’s name and address and, if known, the respondent’s telephone number, e-mail address, age and date of birth;

(2) Clause 5 (1) (d) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(d)  the name, office address, office telephone number, office fax number, if applicable, and office e-mail address, if applicable, of the applicant’s family physician, if different from the reporting physician;

(3) Clause 5 (1) (h) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(h)  the applicant’s consent to the release of their personal information and personal health information relating to the application to the Board.

(4) Clause 5 (2) (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “in the event that the application is referred to the Board” at the end.

(5) Subsection 5 (4) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(4) The applicant shall submit the results of their base line testing to the Board as soon as they are available.

5. (1) Clause 6 (1) (a) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(a)  the name, office address, office telephone number, office fax number, if applicable, and office e-mail address, if applicable, of the reporting physician;

(2) Clause 6 (1) (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “sex”.

(3) Clause 6 (1) (c) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(c)  the name, office address, office telephone number, office fax number, if applicable, and office e-mail address, if applicable, of the applicant’s family physician, if different from the reporting physician;

(4) Clause 6 (1) (k) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(k)  the name, office address, office telephone number, office fax number, if applicable, and office e-mail address, if applicable, of the physician or physicians to whom the reporting physician referred the applicant for prophylaxis, treatment and follow-up, if applicable; and

6. Subsection 7 (2) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(2) If the medical officer of health determines that the application does not meet the requirements of section 4, the medical officer of health shall notify,

(a)  the applicant; and,

(b)  the Board, if the application has already been sent to the Board.

(3) An applicant who receives notice that their application does not meet the requirements of section 4 may correct the application and resubmit it.

7. Section 8 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Request for voluntary compliance

8. (1) When making a request under section 3 of the Act that a respondent voluntarily provide a blood sample or other evidence of their seropositivity respecting the listed communicable diseases, the medical officer of health shall,

(a)  follow standard public health practices and procedures;

(b)  disclose the details of the occurrence, as described in the applicant and physician reports, to the respondent, without disclosing the applicant’s personal information; and

(c)  make reasonable attempts to deliver to the respondent a blank respondent report.

(2) If the respondent does not provide a blood sample or other evidence of their seropositivity respecting the listed communicable diseases, the medical officer of health shall make reasonable attempts to request that the respondent voluntarily provide such a sample or evidence until the day that is five business days after the day the medical officer of health received the application or the day the Board renders its decision under section 5 of the Act, whichever is earlier.

8. Sections 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

Voluntary compliance

9. If the respondent voluntarily agrees to provide a blood sample, the respondent shall,

(a)  go to a physician or person belonging to a class prescribed by section 13;

(b)  request that a blood sample be taken; and

(c)  advise the physician or other person that the sample is being provided pursuant to a request made by a medical officer of health under section 3 of the Act.

Immediate notification

10. If the respondent voluntarily provides a blood sample or other evidence of their seropositivity respecting the listed communicable diseases, the medical officer of health shall immediately, and in writing, notify the Board that the sample was taken or that evidence of their seropositivity was provided, as applicable.

Withdrawal of application by applicant

11. (1) An applicant who withdraws their application under subsection 3 (4) of the Act shall follow the Board’s Rules of Practice for the withdrawal of an application.

(2) The withdrawal of an application does not prevent the applicant from submitting a new application respecting the same matter in accordance with the Act.

Exceptional circumstances

12. The prescribed circumstances for the purposes of subsections 4 (4) and 5 (4) of the Act are circumstances where it is impossible or impracticable for the Board, the applicant or the respondent to comply with the applicable time period set out in the Act.

9. Section 13 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following paragraph:

3.  Individuals employed in a specimen collection centre licensed under the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act.

10. Section 14 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Verification of respondent’s identity before taking blood sample

14. (1) A physician or other person to whom a person goes for the taking of a blood sample pursuant to a request made under section 3 of the Act or an order made under section 5 of the Act shall, before taking the blood sample, ensure that the person verifies that they are the respondent using one of the following methods:

1.  Producing photo identification that identifies them as the respondent.

2.  If the person does not have photo identification, producing two pieces of identification that have the person’s name and either their signature or date of birth, which must both correspond with the information on the requisition or order.

3.  If the person does not have any identification described in paragraph 1 or 2, producing a person who is familiar with the respondent and who verbally attests that the person who is presenting themselves to have a blood sample taken is the respondent.

(2) Despite anything in an order made under section 5 of the Act, if verification is not provided as required under subsection (1) or if the physician or other person is not satisfied that the person who is presenting themselves to have a blood sample taken is the respondent, the physician or other person,

(a)  shall not take the blood sample;

(b)  shall indicate on the laboratory requisition that they did not take the blood sample and the reason for not doing so; and

(c)  shall provide notice to the medical officer of health in the health unit for the area where the respondent lives that the physician or other person did not take the blood.

(3) Upon receiving the notice sent under clause (2) (c), the medical officer of health shall notify the applicant in writing, sent by courier or electronically, that the blood sample was not taken for the reason provided under clause (2) (b).

11. (1) Clause 15 (1) (c) of the Regulation is revoked.

(2) Clause 15 (1) (d) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “the seal attached to”.

(3) Clause 15 (1) (e) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(e)  attach the unique file identifier assigned to the application under subsection 4 (5) to the laboratory requisition, which must appear on the original and all copies of the laboratory requisition;

(4) Clause 15 (1) (g) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “his or her” and substituting “their”.

(5) Clause 15 (1) (i) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “his or her” and substituting “their”.

(6) Clause 15 (1) (j) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(j)  provide notice to the medical officer of health in the health unit for the area where the respondent lives that a blood sample was taken.

(7) Subsection 15 (3) of the Regulation is revoked.

12. Section 16 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Damage or delay

16. (1) No analysis shall be performed on a blood sample taken from a respondent if, on arrival at the Central Public Health Laboratory, an official of the Central Public Health Laboratory determines that the sample does not meet the criteria for sample analysis set out under the quality management program required by the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act.

(2) If the official determines that no analysis should be performed on a sample, the official shall,

(a)  indicate on the laboratory requisition that no analysis of the respondent’s blood sample has been performed and the reason for not performing the analysis; and

(b)  send the laboratory requisition, with the indication required by clause (a), to the medical officer of health in the health unit for the area where the respondent lives.

(3) Upon receiving the laboratory requisition sent under clause (2) (b), the medical officer of health shall notify the applicant in writing that the blood sample was provided but not analysed for the reason provided under clause (2) (a).

(4) The notification under subsection (3) shall be sent by courier or electronically and is deemed to be received by the applicant 24 hours after it was sent, unless the applicant establishes that they did not, acting in good faith, through absence, accident, illness or other cause beyond their control, receive the notification until a later date and time than the deemed time of receipt.

13. (1) Subsection 17 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “analyzed” and substituting “analysed”.

(2) Clause 17 (3) (c) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(c)  if the respondent requested that the report on the results of the analysis be delivered to their physician, make reasonable attempts to deliver to the respondent,

(i)  a notice that the analyst delivered the report on the results of the analysis to the respondent’s physician or made reasonable attempts to do so, and

(ii)  a recommendation that the respondent consult their physician for a proper interpretation of the results of the analysis.

(3) Subsection 17 (4) of the Regulation is revoked.

(4) Subclause 17 (5) (b) (ii) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “his or her” and substituting “their”.

14. Section 18 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Application resubmitted

18. (1) This section applies to an applicant who is notified under subsection 14 (3) that a sample has not been taken because the respondent’s identity could not be verified or who is notified under subsection 16 (3) that the respondent provided a blood sample that was not analysed.

(2) The applicant may, within seven days after receiving a notification described in subsection (1), resubmit their application to a medical officer of health.

(3) The resubmitted application must include,

(a)  the name of the applicant and the unique file identifier assigned to the original application under subsection 4 (5); and

(b)  a copy of the written notice given by the medical officer of health under subsection 14 (3) or 16 (3), as applicable.

(4) The resubmitted application must be received by the office of the medical officer of health in the health unit for the area where the respondent lives no more than seven days after the date on which the applicant received the notice given by the medical officer of health under subsection 14 (3) or 16 (3), as applicable.

(5) The medical officer of health shall review the resubmitted application and determine whether a new application must be made or whether a previous laboratory requisition can be reissued.

(6) If a previous laboratory requisition is reissued under this section, sections 8 to 18 of this Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Act apply with necessary modifications in respect of the re-issued requisition.

Commencement

15. This Regulation comes into force on the later of the day section 2 of Schedule 7 to the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, 2019 comes into force and the day this Regulation is filed.

Made by:
Pris par :

La ministre de la Santé,

Sylvia Jones

Minister of Health

Date made: November 16, 2022
Pris le : 16 novembre 2022

 

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