Title 20 — Public Health and Welfare

(1) The General Assembly finds and declares that:(1) Breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, is the second leading cause of death among women in the United States;(2) One (1) American woman in ten (10) will develop breast cancer in her lifetime;(3) Mammography pr…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Accreditation body” means a body that has been approved by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to accredit mammography facilities under the federal Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-539 (21 C.F.R. P…

(a) To assure the safety and accuracy of screening and diagnostic mammography and to promote the highest quality imaging in the most efficient setting to contain costs, radiological standards and quality assurance programs shall be established and administered by the Secretary of…

(a) (1) The Secretary of the Department of Health shall establish quality standards for accreditation of facilities wherein mammography may be conducted according to the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-539, 21 C.F.R. Part 900.(2) The standards applicabl…

(a) As an accreditation body, the Department of Health may charge and collect the following fees:(1) First mammography tube, seven hundred dollars ($700) to be collected at the beginning of each three-year accreditation period;(2) Each additional mammography tube, five hundred do…

(1) The Department of Health may operate a mammography quality standards certification program in accordance with the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-539 (21 C.F.R. Part 900), to:(1) Issue initial and renewal certificates to mammography facilities;(2) C…

(a) (1) In addition to the testing of pregnant women required under § 20-16-507, a physician or a healthcare provider who is attending a pregnant woman in this state for conditions relating to pregnancy or any other person who is attending or providing medical treatment to a preg…

(a) A physician or healthcare provider who is attending a birth in this state or a licensed healthcare provider who is attending or providing medical treatment to a birth mother in this state shall facilitate with a healthcare provider to screen the birth mother for depression wi…

The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a statewide coordinated early intervention program to identify and follow up with testing and treatment of newborn infants who are at risk for hearing impairment.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Newborn infant with hearing impairment” means a newborn infant who has a disorder of the auditory system of any type or degree causing a hearing impairment sufficient to interfere with the development of language and speech skills;(2) “Newborn …

(a) There is established in the Department of Health a program to be known as the “Newborn Infant Hearing Screening Program”. The program shall provide for the early identification and follow-up of newborn infants at risk. (b) The program shall include:(1) Development through the…

(a) (1) All hospitals, birthing centers, and lay midwives shall complete a hearing impairment at-risk questionnaire for each newborn infant before discharge or, in the case of a lay midwife, within seventy-two (72) hours of the birth of the infant.(2) All hearing impairment at-ri…

(a) The hospital, birthing center, or lay midwife may elect to provide for the screening of infants for hearing impairment but is not required to do so by this subchapter. (b) Any facility screening infants for hearing impairment shall forward test results on a screening report t…

The Department of Health, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Department of Human Services shall work cooperatively and develop a plan to coordinate early educational and rehabilitative services for newborn infants identified as Deaf, deaf, or Hard of Hear…

Any person or entity who reports in good faith and without malice or who in good faith and without malice fails to report the information required by this subchapter shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, that might be incurred or imposed in any action resulti…

As used in this subchapter, “provider” means any healthcare professional who has direct or supervisory responsibility for the delivery of immunizations.

(a) (1) The Department of Health shall establish a statewide immunization registry.(2) Immunization records shall include data as specified by the department. (1) The Department of Health shall establish a statewide immunization registry. (2) Immunization records shall include da…

(a) (1) A provider shall register with the Department of Health the intent to administer childhood immunizations to an individual under twenty-two (22) years of age under guidelines established by the department.(2) A provider shall report to the department the administration of …

This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Breast Cancer Act of 1997”.

(1) The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:(1) Breast cancer is a significant threat to the health of women. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and causes the death of a woman in the United States every twelve (12) minutes;(2) The incidence of br…

(1) There is established in the University of Arkansas a Breast Cancer Research Program. This program shall support research efforts into the cause, cure, treatment, earlier detection, and prevention of breast cancer and shall be administered according to the following principles…

(a) (1) There is hereby established a Breast Cancer Control Advisory Board, which shall consist of eight (8) members appointed by the Governor, as follows:(A) One (1) member shall be appointed to represent the Arkansas Medical Society, Inc.;(B) One (1) member shall represent the …

This subchapter may be cited as the “Osteoporosis Prevention Education Act of 1997”.

(1) It is found and determined by the General Assembly that:(1) Osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease, is a major public health problem that poses a threat to the health and quality of life of as many as twenty-five million (25,000,000) Americans;(2) The annual direct and indirec…

(a) The Department of Health shall coordinate with other agencies and organizations as funds become available to establish, promote, and maintain an osteoporosis prevention and treatment education program in order to raise public awareness, to educate consumers, to educate and tr…

(1) The Department of Health may evaluate any or all of the following:(1) The research on osteoporosis being conducted within the state;(2) The available technical assistance, educational materials, and osteoporosis programs nationwide;(3) The level of public and professional awa…

(1) The purpose of this subchapter is to:(1) Provide early detection of hearing loss by physiological measurement in newborn children at the birthing facility or as soon after birth as possible;(2) Enable these children and their families and caregivers to obtain needed multidisc…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Birth admission” means the time after birth that the newborn remains in the hospital nursery before discharge;(2) “Birthing hospital” means any hospital located within the State of Arkansas that delivers newborns;(3) “Follow-up care” and “follo…

(a) There is created the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, Tracking, and Intervention Advisory Board. (b) (1) The board shall be composed of seven (7) members appointed by the Governor, after consulting the Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Inc., from the following…

(a) After July 30, 1999, and promulgation of rules, every birthing hospital in this state with more than fifty (50) births per year shall provide or arrange for a bilateral physiological hearing screening on each birth admission. Medicaid shall reimburse the birthing hospital for…

No test is to be performed if the parent of a newborn or infant dissents on the ground that the test conflicts with a personal religious belief or practice.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative Act”.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) (A) In 2015, colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer death in Arkansas.(B) An estimated one thousand five hundred eighty-two (1,582) new cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed in Arkansas during 2015.(C) An estimated one…

(1) As used in this subchapter, “high risk” means:(1) An individual over forty-five (45) years of age or who faces a high risk for colorectal cancer because of:(A) The presence of one (1) or more polyps on a previous colonoscopy, barium enema, or flexible sigmoidoscopy;(B) Family…

(a) There is created the Arkansas Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative in the Department of Health, if funds are available. (b) The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences may collaborate with the department and the Arkansas C…

(1) The Arkansas Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative funded under this subchapter shall:(1) Provide screenings and diagnostic tests for colorectal cancer to individuals who are:(A) Forty-five (45) years of age or older; or(B) Under forty-five (45) years of age and at high risk…

The Department of Human Services and the Department of Health shall collaborate to identify goals and benchmarks while also developing individual entity plans to reduce the incidence of diabetes in Arkansas, improve diabetes care, and control complications associated with diabete…

(1) The Department of Human Services and the Department of Health shall submit a report to the Legislative Council by January 10 of each even-numbered year, including without limitation the following:(1) The financial impact and reach that diabetes of all types are having on each…

The requirements of this subchapter are limited to the diabetes information, data, initiatives, and programs within each agency before July 22, 2015, unless there is available funding for diabetes in each agency that may be used for new research, data collection, reporting, or ot…

The Department of Health shall accumulate such data concerning cancer in Arkansas and its residents as is deemed appropriate for the purposes of describing the frequency of cancer, furnishing reports to health professionals and the public, and for planning and evaluating cancer p…

A task force consisting of public and private entities shall be established by the Secretary of the Department of Health to assist the Department of Health in developing a strategic plan for a coordinated, comprehensive, statewide network of cancer resources, services, and progra…

(a) Information accumulated and maintained in the Arkansas Central Cancer Registry shall not be divulged except for statistical information that does not identify individuals and for purposes of research by a qualified researcher. (b) As used in this section, “qualified researche…

(a) The Department of Health may enter into agreements with other states and federal organizations authorized to exchange registry data. (b) The agreements shall prohibit divulging information to entities without prior approval of the department.

The Department of Health may receive gifts, grants, and donations for the purposes of this subchapter.

A.C.A. § 20-15-206Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Right to Try Act”.

(1) It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that:(1) The process of approval for investigational drugs, biological products, and devices in the United States often takes many years;(2) Patients who have a terminal disease do not have the luxury…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Eligible patient” means a person who meets the requirements of eligibility in § 20-15-2104;(2) “Investigational drug, biological product, or device” means a drug, biological product, or device that:(A) Has successfully completed phase I of clin…

(1) In order for a patient to access an investigational drug, biological product, or device under this subchapter, a physician must document in the patient's medical record and chart that the patient:(1) Has a terminal illness;(2) Has a determination from a qualified physician th…

A manufacturer of an investigational drug, biological product, or device may, but is not required to, make its investigational drug, biological product, or device available to eligible patients under this subchapter.