(a) A health care provider licensed in the State who draws the blood of a patient to perform a laboratory test for Lyme disease or a medical laboratory, as defined in § 17-201 of this article, that performs a laboratory test for the presence of Lyme disease shall provide the following written notice to the patient at the time the patient's blood is drawn: "Your health care provider has ordered a laboratory test for the presence of Lyme disease for you. Current laboratory testing for Lyme disease can be problematic and standard laboratory tests often result in false negative and false positive results and, if done too early, you may not have produced enough antibodies to be considered positive because your immune response requires time to develop antibodies. If you are tested for Lyme disease and the results are negative, this does not necessarily mean you do not have Lyme disease. If you continue to experience unexplained symptoms, you should contact your health care provider and inquire about the appropriateness of retesting or initial or additional treatment.". (b) If the Department finds significant differences between the content of the notice required by subsection (a) of this section and current medical evidence on Lyme disease testing, the Department may adopt regulations that change the content of the notice. (c) The Department shall provide written notice to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee before submitting any proposed regulation under subsection (b) of this section to the Maryland Register for publication. (d) The provision by a health care provider or medical laboratory of the notice required by subsection (a) of this section may not be the sole basis for a cause of action.
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