Arthur J. Fried, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in Part B News, in “You Can Require a Covid Test Before a Procedure, and Some States May Demand It,” by Roy Edroso. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Question: I see that as medical practices reopen and procedures are being done again, providers are requiring not only temperature checks but in some cases negative COVID test results before treating the patient. Is that allowed?
Answer: Some medical organizations leave the decision to the discretion of providers. HCA Healthcare, the large national health system with headquarters in Nashville, for example, says “the decision to test a patient for COVID-19 prior to a surgical procedure is your doctor’s decision.” But some providers are requiring tests before procedures. “We are asking patients to be tested for COVID-19 prior to arriving on campus for hospitalization or procedures that might put others at risk for spread of the virus,” says the University of California at San Francisco Department of Orthopedic Surgery.
Mandatory pre-procedure testing has spread to ambulatory surgical centers and even in-office procedures, and is sometimes required by law. Kentucky, in the third phase of its reopening, requires that “all surgical/procedural patients must have COVID-19 pre-procedure testing per professional association guidelines consistent with [Kentucky Department of Public Health] guidance.” …
Note: Arthur J. Fried, an attorney working in the health care and life sciences practices of the Epstein Becker Green law firm in New York, reminds you that “most if not all states have requirements that providers report various infectious diseases" that come to their attention, and “COVID-19 certainly qualifies.”
