Title 8.7. Examination Of Inmates And Wards For Tuberculosis of California Penal Code >> Title 8.7. >> Part 3.

In enacting this chapter, the Legislature hereby finds and declares that tuberculosis is a serious contagious disease. It is vital to the health and safety of inmates, employees, and the public at large, to conduct appropriate examinations, testing, and treatment in order to control the spread of tuberculosis in California's institutions.

For purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply:
  (a) "Chief medical officer" means the chief medical officer or acting chief medical officer of a state prison or any facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections or the Department of the Youth Authority.
  (b) "Inmate or ward" means any person incarcerated within the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections or the Department of the Youth Authority, with the exception of a person on parole.
  (c) "Institution" means any state prison, camp, center, office, or other facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections or the Department of the Youth Authority.
  (d) "Examination, test, or treatment" means methods, processes, or other means, including medical evaluations, testing, followup examinations, or treatment, in accordance with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as specified in the guidelines for tuberculosis control of the Department of Corrections and the Department of the Youth Authority.
  (e) "Medical evaluation" means taking a history or gathering other information and may include, but is not limited to, listening to the chest or other examinations or tests as specified in the guidelines for tuberculosis control of the Department of Corrections and the Department of the Youth Authority.
  (f) "Department" means the Department of Corrections and the Department of the Youth Authority.
  (g) "Chief of medical services" means the medical officer, acting medical officer, or designee responsible for all medical services of the Department of Corrections or the Department of the Youth authority.

The chief of medical services, or his or her designee, shall use every available means to ascertain the existence of, and to immediately investigate all reported or suspected cases of, tuberculosis in the infectious stages and to ascertain the source or sources of the infections. In carrying out these investigations, the chief of medical services, or his or her designee, is hereby invested with full powers of inspection, examination, and quarantine or isolation of all inmates or wards known to be, or reasonably suspected to be, infected with tuberculosis in an infectious stage.

(a) The chief medical officer shall order an inmate or ward to receive an examination or test, or may order an inmate or ward to receive treatment if the medical officer has a reasonable suspicion that the inmate or ward has, has had, or has been exposed to tuberculosis in an infectious stage and the chief medical officer has reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary for the preservation and protection of staff and inmates or wards.
  (b) The chief medical officer shall ensure that examinations or tests for tuberculosis on all inmates or wards are conducted upon incarceration and at least annually thereafter.

Notwithstanding Section 2600 or 2601, or any other provision of law, any inmate or ward who refuses to submit to an examination, test, or treatment for tuberculosis as described in Section 7572 or 7573, or who refuses treatment for tuberculosis, or who, after notice, violates, or refuses or neglects to conform to, any rule, order, guideline, or regulation prescribed by the department with regard to tuberculosis control shall be tested involuntarily and may be treated involuntarily. This inmate or ward shall be subject to disciplinary action as described in Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations.

To provide effective control of the spread of tuberculosis in institutions and to identify those among the inmate and ward populations with tuberculosis, the Department of Corrections shall operate pursuant to guidelines developed in consultation with the State Department of Health Services, which shall be adopted on or before July 1, 1994. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, establishing a reporting system which emphasizes standardized, uniform data collection, reporting, and assessment, as specified in Section 7576.

(a) The Department of Corrections, the Department of the Youth Authority, the Board of Prison Terms, and the Youthful Offender Parole Board shall compile information through each department's respective reporting systems for individual institutions and each respective department as a whole and shall provide the results to the State Department of Health Services annually. The information reported shall consist of the following:
  (1) Prevalence rates and conversion rates (tuberculin incidence) for tuberculosis infection for inmates or wards and staff in each institution.
  (2) Case numbers and case rates for tuberculosis disease for inmates or wards in each institution.
  (b) Subject to additional staffing resources provided through the state budget process, the departments described in subdivision (a) shall also compile the following information for individual institutions and each respective department as a whole and shall provide the results to the State Department of Health Services annually:
  (1) Percentage of inmates and wards with tuberculosis disease who complete the prescribed course of directly observed curative therapy in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and as specified in the department's guidelines for tuberculosis control.
  (2) Percentage of inmates and wards with culture positive sputum that convert to culture negative in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and as specified in the department's guidelines for tuberculosis control.
  (3) Percentage of inmates and wards with tuberculosis who complete the prescribed INH (isoniazid) or other appropriate directly observed preventive therapy in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and as specified in the department's guidelines for tuberculosis control.