| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public health; creating the |
| 3 | Expedited Partner Therapy Pilot Project in Duval and |
| 4 | Gadsden Counties; providing an exemption from |
| 5 | specified rules and statutory requirements for the |
| 6 | pilot program; providing for training of physicians |
| 7 | and patient education; requiring the pilot project to |
| 8 | be funded by existing revenues; providing for use of |
| 9 | funds; providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | WHEREAS, expedited partner therapy offers a cost-effective |
| 12 | treatment tool for breaking the cycle of chlamydia and gonorrhea |
| 13 | that infects thousands of women age 15 through 34 annually who |
| 14 | are thus at a higher risk for poor birth outcomes if they become |
| 15 | pregnant, and |
| 16 | WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| 17 | recommends expedited partner therapy as a treatment option and |
| 18 | has developed specific guidelines for its use, and |
| 19 | WHEREAS, Gadsden and Duval Counties rank 1st and 3rd, |
| 20 | respectively, in the state in reported cases of sexually |
| 21 | transmitted infections experiencing significant increases in |
| 22 | both chlamydia and gonorrhea over the last 5 years, particularly |
| 23 | among women of childbearing age, and |
| 24 | WHEREAS, the state's current approach to tracking and |
| 25 | treating partners has not been successful in reducing these |
| 26 | rates, and |
| 27 | WHEREAS, the proposed pilot project is projected to cost |
| 28 | $70,000 annually and reach approximately 4,000 persons and their |
| 29 | partners and offers a cost-effective strategy for testing |
| 30 | expedited partner therapy and evaluating its impact in two |
| 31 | counties with significantly high incidences of sexually |
| 32 | transmitted infections and infant mortality, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 33 |
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| 34 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 35 |
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| 36 | Section 1. Expedited partner therapy pilot project.-The |
| 37 | Department of Health shall develop and implement an expedited |
| 38 | partner therapy pilot project in Duval and Gadsden Counties to |
| 39 | address high rates of sexually transmitted infections. The pilot |
| 40 | project shall exempt providers in those counties from the |
| 41 | requirements of ss. 384.27 and 465.023(1)(h), Florida Statutes, |
| 42 | and Rule 64B8-9.014, Florida Administrative Code. Under the |
| 43 | proposed pilot project, a physician is authorized to provide a |
| 44 | single dose of medication provided by the county health |
| 45 | department to infected patients for use by their partners. |
| 46 | Expedited partner therapy is not mandated under the pilot |
| 47 | project but is offered as a treatment option. The pilot project |
| 48 | shall provide training to physicians on the Centers for Disease |
| 49 | Control and Prevention expedited partner therapy guidelines and |
| 50 | adapt provider and patient education material on expedited |
| 51 | partner therapy developed by the state of Texas, which recently |
| 52 | approved expedited partner therapy as a treatment option. The |
| 53 | cost of the pilot project may be covered by identifying |
| 54 | resources within existing revenues. Funding shall be used to |
| 55 | purchase needed medication, provide educational material for |
| 56 | physicians and patients, and evaluate the progress of the pilot |
| 57 | project. |
| 58 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |