|
Abstract: Evaluating and treating the sexual partners of persons infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are critical components of prevention efforts and essential to limiting the spread of STDs. Expedited partner therapy (EPT), the direct delivery of medications or prescriptions by a person infected with an STD to his or her sex partners, can effectively reduce the prevalence and incidence of disease. Yet implementation of EPT raises significant legal and policy questions surrounding licensing sanctions, public health requirements, liability, prescription drug laws, and reimbursement. The central legal issue underlying EPT is whether a health care practitioner may provide a prescription for a non-controlled substance to a patient's sexual partner, absent prior evaluation of the partner, for the purposes of treating the partner for specific STDs. The Centers for Law and the Public's Health: A Collaborative at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities collaborated with CDC beginning in September 2005 to assess the legal framework concerning EPT. After conducting extensive legal reviews across all states and other jurisdictions, we concluded that the use of EPT to provide treatment and diminish the spread of STDs is legally defensible in many states and should be promoted through laws and policies that seek to protect the public's health. In this article, we explain these findings and suggest a series of law and policy options to facilitate the practice of EPT.
|