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A1424
ASSEMBLY, No. 1424
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELLEN J. PARK
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
���� "Lyme Screening Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning pediatric Lyme screening and supplementing
Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �Lyme Screening Act.�
���� 2.� As used in this act:
���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Health.
���� �Department� means the
Department of Health.
���� �Lyme� means a bacterial
infection which is spread by certain ticks.
���� �Standardized Lyme screening
checklist� means a brief set of questions developed by the Department of Health
to assess risk of Lyme exposure and symptoms.
���� �Well-child visit� means a
preventive child wellness examination during which a child�s health care
provider conducts a physical examination, developmental assessment, and
administers recommended immunizations.
���� 3.� a.� A health care facility
that serves children and is licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et
seq.), and any other agency or program that serves children and is designated
by the Commissioner of Health to perform well-child visits, shall perform a
Lyme screening on each child that the facility, agency, or program serves,
unless the facility, agency, or program has knowledge that the child has
already undergone Lyme screening.
���� b.� The Department of Health,
in coordination with appropriate State agencies, shall develop a standardized
Lyme screening checklist to be used by licensed health care practitioners who
provide pediatric well-child care in this State. �Practitioners shall
administer the standardized Lyme screening checklist at the periodic intervals
adopted by the department and consistent with recognized pediatric guidelines.
���� c.� Each health care provider
who conducts a well-child visit, or a symptom-related visit for fever, fatigue,
rash, joint pain, or headache occurring between April 1 and October 31 of each
year, shall administer the standardized Lyme screening checklist to determine
if the child has had any known recent tick exposure or is experiencing fatigue,
joint pain, fever, rash, or headaches.
���� d.� The provider shall
document the child�s responses in the patient�s medical record.� If the
responses or clinical findings indicate potential risk for Lyme, the provider
shall either:
���� (1) order Lyme testing in
accordance with department guidelines; or
���� (2) refer the patient for
further evaluation and testing as clinically appropriate.
���� 4.� The State Board of Medical
Examiners shall:
���� (1) require that the number of
credits of continuing medical education required of each person licensed as a
physician, as a condition of biennial registration pursuant to section 1 of
P.L.1971, c.236 (C.45:9-6.1), include one mandatory credit of educational
programs or topics concerning Lyme.� The continuing medical education
requirement in this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of section 10
of P.L.2001, c.307 (C.45:9-7.1); and
���� (2) adopt rules and
regulations if necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section pursuant to
the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et
seq.).
���� 5.� a.� The mandatory credit
of educational programs and topics concerning Lyme established in section 4 of
this act shall include training modules on:
���� (1) preventive measures and
available treatments;
���� (2) health risks and
complications of pediatric Lyme;
���� (3) best practices for
screening, diagnosis, and clinical management of Lyme in children; and
���� (4) effective communication
strategies for discussing Lyme prevention, symptoms, and follow-up care with
parents and guardians.
���� b.� Training required under
this section shall be made available through a variety of formats to ensure
accessibility for all physicians and pediatric health care providers, including
online courses, webinars, workshops, and in-person seminars. �These options
shall allow providers to complete the required training at their own pace and
according to their schedules.
���� c.� Physicians and other
licensed health care providers shall receive continuing medical education
credits for completion of the Lyme education modules, which shall count toward
their required continuing medical education hours for license renewal.
���� 6.� This act shall take effect
the first day of the sixth month following enactment, except that the
Department of Health may take any anticipatory administrative action necessary
for its timely implementation.
STATEMENT
���� This bill creates the �Lyme
Screening Act.�
���� Under the bill, a health care
facility that serves children and is licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136
(C.26:2H-1 et seq.), and any other agency or program that serves children and
is designated by the Commissioner of Health to perform well-child visits, is to
perform a Lyme screening on each child that the facility, agency, or program
serves, unless the facility, agency, or program has knowledge that the child
has already undergone Lyme screening.� The Department of Health, in
coordination with appropriate State agencies, is to develop a standardized Lyme
screening checklist to be used by licensed health care practitioners who
provide pediatric well-child care in this State. �Practitioners are to
administer the standardized Lyme screening checklist at the periodic intervals
adopted by the department and consistent with recognized pediatric guidelines.�
Each health care provider who conducts a well-child visit, or a symptom-related
visit for fever, fatigue, rash, joint pain, or headache occurring between April
1 and October 31 of each year, is to administer the standardized Lyme screening
checklist to determine if the child has had any known recent tick exposure or
is experiencing fatigue, joint pain, fever, rash, or headaches.
���� Under this bill, the State
Board of Medical Examiners is to require that the number of credits of
continuing medical education required of each person licensed as a physician,
as a condition of biennial registration pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1971,
c.236 (C.45:9-6.1), include one mandatory credit of educational programs or
topics concerning Lyme.
���� The bill provides that the
mandatory credit of educational programs and topics concerning Lyme is to
include training modules on preventive measures and available treatments;
health risks and complications of pediatric Lyme; best practices for screening,
diagnosis, and clinical management of Lyme in children; and effective
communication strategies for discussing Lyme prevention, symptoms, and
follow-up care with parents and guardians.
���� Under this bill, upon
completion of the Lyme education modules, physicians are to receive continuing
medical education credits which will count toward their required continuing
medical education hours for license renewal.� These credits are to count toward
the total continuing medical education hours required, which includes a focus
on patient safety, medical ethics, and other essential medical topics.