Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 216 - Department of health
Chapter 60 - Laboratories and Medical Examiner
Subchapter 05 - State Laboratory
Part 1 - Determination of the Amount of Alcohol and/or Drugs in a Person's Blood by Chemical Analysis of the Breath and/or Blood (216-RICR-60-05-1)
Section 216-RICR-60-05-1.4 - Blood Testing
Universal Citation: 216 RI Code of Rules 60 05 1.4
Current through September 18, 2024
A. Collection
1. The blood specimen(s) for chemical
analysis shall be collected by a licensed physician, a registered nurse, or
other licensed health care practitioner acting within the scope of his/her
practice, or a "medical technician" as defined in §
1.2(A)(6) of
this Part.
2. Prior to insertion of
the needle preparatory to drawing blood, clean the superficial skin over the
vein with a sanitizing agent devoid of alcohol.
3. Collect the blood specimen(s) in a sterile
laboratory tube. It is preferable that the tube contains chemical(s) designed
to prevent bacterial growth. (Such chemicals are commonly found in tubes with
grey stoppers).
4. Blood specimens
collected voluntarily from an individual for determining blood alcohol content
and/or drug screening shall be turned over to the requesting law enforcement
authority at the time of blood drawing.
B. Integrity of Specimen(s)
1. Maintaining the chain-of-custody and
minimizing deterioration of the specimen(s), until delivery to the laboratory,
shall be the responsibility of the requesting law enforcement
authority.
2. The law enforcement
authority shall maintain records containing, but not limited to, the following:
a. name and address of person
apprehended,
b. date of birth of
person apprehended,
c. date and
time of occurrence,
d. type of
bodily substance(s) collected,
e.
date and time of collection of specimen(s),
f. name and place of employment of person
collecting the specimen(s),
g. name
of arresting officer, and
h. name
of attending officer (if different).
3. To minimize specimen deterioration, the
law enforcement authority shall:
a. avoid
prolonged exposure of the specimen(s) to temperatures above ninety degrees
Fahrenheit (90 °F),
b. deliver
the specimen(s) to the laboratory as soon as practical, and
c. refrigerate tubes without preservative(s)
until transported to the laboratory.
C. Competency of Laboratory Analysts
1. Persons employed in the several classes of
Forensic Scientist within the Forensic Toxicology Laboratory of the
Department's Division of Laboratories shall be deemed competent by the Director
to perform analyses of blood for alcohol or drugs.
2. All persons employed in a licensed
hospital laboratory in Rhode Island are deemed competent by the Director to
perform analyses of blood for alcohol or drugs, if the director of the hospital
laboratory determines that the qualifications of the person(s) meet at least
the minimum requirements set for Forensic Scientist.
D. Methods of Analysis
1. The laboratory shall employ evidence
handling procedures designed to protect the chain-of custody of the specimen(s)
and to minimize deterioration of the specimen(s).
2. The analysis of blood for alcohol shall be
performed by means of gas chromatography or other technique generally
recognized in the scientific community as being at least as accurate. Alcohol
detected and identified during analysis shall be reported in terms of weight of
alcohol (ethanol) per volume of substance analyzed (w/v).
3. The analysis of blood for drugs shall
include confirmation of presumptively positive results by mass spectrometry or
other technique generally recognized in the scientific community as being at
least as accurate. Specified drugs and/or their metabolites, that are detected
and identified, shall be reported as "present".
E. Reports of Analysis
1. Upon completion of analysis, the
individual who performed the analysis or the laboratory by whom she/he is
employed, shall prepare a report of the result of said analysis.
2. The report shall be submitted only to the
law enforcement authority requesting the analysis.
3. A copy of all reports of analysis under
the Act shall be retained in accordance with the Department's record retention
schedule established for this category of document.
4. The confidential nature of all results of
analysis shall be maintained.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Rhode Island may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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