Section 31-15-5. Duties of commissioner

   The commissioner, with the advice of the Cancer Advisory Committee, shall:

   (1) Develop standards for determining eligibility of patients for care and treatment under this program, set standards for the equipping and staffing of cancer clinics located strategically throughout the state and so placed that patients requiring treatment will not have to travel more than 75 miles to secure such treatment. When the clinics meet such standards, they shall be certified by the department. Patients treated at uncertified cancer clinics shall not be eligible for state aid for reimbursement;

   (2) In the event that federal grant programs become available for patient care, the commissioner may allocate state matching funds in whatever department of state government they may be administered so as to maximize the total funds available and to obtain funding needed by the specific patient population which is declared eligible. These programs include but are not restricted to Medicaid, crippled children's services, and vocational rehabilitation;

   (3) Extend financial aid to persons suffering from cancer to enable them to obtain the medical, nursing, pharmaceutical, and technical services necessary in caring for such disease. Criteria and procedures for financial aid will be developed by the Division of Physical Health in accordance with the principle that pauperization of a functional family unit will subvert the rehabilitative purposes of this program and will be more costly to the state in the long run;

   (4) Assist in the development and expansion, by grant or by contract, of programs for the care and treatment of persons suffering from cancer so that the most efficient and effective treatment may be offered to the patients certified as eligible;

   (5) Assist in the development of programs for the prevention of cancer;

   (6) Assist in the development and execution of programs for the early detection of cancer, such as breast self-examination for breast cancer and the Papanicolaou test for cancer of the cervix;

   (7) Institute and support, directly or through health organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the Georgia Cancer Management Network, educational programs for physicians, providers of health care, and the public concerning cancer, including the dissemination of information regarding prevention, early detection, and treatment; and

   (8) Support a state-wide registry of all patients treated in certified cancer clinics in order to evaluate the nature and extent of the incidence of cancer and the effectiveness of treatment.

Code 1933, § 88-2505a, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 753, § 1.