Florida Senate - 2012                                    SB 1474
       
       
       
       By Senator Gibson
       
       
       
       
       1-01118B-12                                           20121474__
    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 the existing budget of the pilot project
    9         area or by developing partnerships; providing for the
   10         use of funds; providing an effective date.
   11  
   12         WHEREAS, expedited partner therapy offers a cost-effective
   13  treatment tool for breaking the cycle of chlamydia and gonorrhea
   14  that infects thousands of women age 15 through 34 annually who
   15  are thus at a higher risk for poor birth outcomes if they become
   16  pregnant, and
   17         WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
   18  recommends expedited partner therapy as a treatment option and
   19  has developed specific guidelines for its use, and
   20         WHEREAS, Gadsden and Duval Counties rank 1st and 3rd,
   21  respectively, in the state in reported cases of sexually
   22  transmitted infections, experiencing significant increases in
   23  both chlamydia and gonorrhea over the last 5 years, particularly
   24  among women of childbearing age, and
   25         WHEREAS, the state’s current approach to tracking and
   26  treating partners has not been successful in reducing these
   27  rates, and
   28         WHEREAS, the proposed pilot project is projected to cost
   29  $70,000 annually and reach approximately 4,000 persons and their
   30  partners and offers a cost-effective strategy for testing
   31  expedited partner therapy and evaluating its impact in two
   32  counties that have significantly high incidences of sexually
   33  transmitted infections and infant mortality, NOW, THEREFORE,
   34  
   35  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   36  
   37         Section 1. Expedited partner therapy pilot project.—The
   38  Department of Health shall develop and implement an expedited
   39  partner therapy pilot project in Duval and Gadsden Counties to
   40  address high rates of sexually transmitted infections. The pilot
   41  project shall exempt providers in those counties from the
   42  requirements of ss. 384.27 and 465.023(1)(h), Florida Statutes,
   43  and Rule 64B8-9.014, Florida Administrative Code. Under the
   44  proposed pilot project, a physician is authorized to provide a
   45  single dose of medication provided by the county health
   46  department to infected patients for use by their partners.
   47  Expedited partner therapy is not mandated under the pilot
   48  project but is offered as a treatment option. The pilot project
   49  shall provide training to physicians on the guidelines for
   50  expedited partner therapy developed by the Centers for Disease
   51  Control and Prevention and adapt provider and patient education
   52  material on expedited partner therapy developed by the state of
   53  Texas, which recently approved expedited partner therapy as a
   54  treatment option. The cost of the pilot project may be covered
   55  by identifying resources within the existing budget of the pilot
   56  project area or by developing partnerships. The funds shall be
   57  used to purchase needed medication, provide educational material
   58  for physicians and patients, and evaluate the progress of the
   59  pilot project.
   60         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.