HB 1201

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to public health; creating the Expedited
3Partner Therapy Pilot Project in Duval and Gadsden
4Counties; providing an exemption from specified rules and
5statutory requirements for the pilot program; providing
6for training of physicians and patient education;
7requiring the pilot project to be funded by existing
8revenues; providing for use of funds; providing an
9effective date.
10
11     WHEREAS, expedited partner therapy offers a cost-effective
12treatment tool for breaking the cycle of chlamydia and gonorrhea
13that infects thousands of women age 15 through 34 annually who
14are thus at a higher risk for poor birth outcomes if they become
15pregnant, and
16     WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
17recommends expedited partner therapy as a treatment option and
18has developed specific guidelines for its use, and
19     WHEREAS, Gadsden and Duval Counties rank 1st and 3rd,
20respectively, in the state in reported cases of sexually
21transmitted infections experiencing significant increases in
22both chlamydia and gonorrhea over the last 5 years, particularly
23among women of childbearing age, and
24     WHEREAS, the state's current approach to tracking and
25treating partners has not been successful in reducing these
26rates, and
27     WHEREAS, the proposed pilot project is projected to cost
28$70,000 annually and reach approximately 4,000 persons and their
29partners and offers a cost-effective strategy for testing
30expedited partner therapy and evaluating its impact in two
31counties with significantly high incidences of sexually
32transmitted infections and infant mortality, NOW, THEREFORE,
33
34Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36     Section 1.  Expedited partner therapy pilot project.-The
37Department of Health shall develop and implement an expedited
38partner therapy pilot project in Duval and Gadsden Counties to
39address high rates of sexually transmitted infections. The pilot
40project shall exempt providers in those counties from the
41requirements of ss. 384.27 and 465.023(1)(h), Florida Statutes,
42and Rule 64B8-9.014, Florida Administrative Code. Under the
43proposed pilot project, a physician is authorized to provide a
44single dose of medication provided by the county health
45department to infected patients for use by their partners.
46Expedited partner therapy is not mandated under the pilot
47project but is offered as a treatment option. The pilot project
48shall provide training to physicians on the Centers for Disease
49Control and Prevention expedited partner therapy guidelines and
50adapt provider and patient education material on expedited
51partner therapy developed by the state of Texas, which recently
52approved expedited partner therapy as a treatment option. The
53cost of the pilot project may be covered by identifying
54resources within existing revenues. Funding shall be used to
55purchase needed medication, provide educational material for
56physicians and patients, and evaluate the progress of the pilot
57project.
58     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.