Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a)
Definitions. As used in this section:
(1)
Expedited partner therapy or EPT means a practice whereby a health care
practitioner chooses to provide a patient with either antibiotics intended for
the patient's sexual partner or partners or a written prescription for
antibiotics for the sexual partner or partners to be delivered by the patient
to the sexual partner or partners for treatment of exposure to chlamydia
trachomatis.
(2) Health care
practitioner means a physician, midwife, nurse practitioner, physician
assistant, or other person who is authorized under title 8 of the Education Law
to diagnose and prescribe drugs for chlamydia trachomatis, acting within his or
her lawful scope of practice.
(b) Liability. A health care practitioner who
reasonably and in good faith renders expedited partner therapy in accordance
with section 2312 of the Public Health Law and this
section, and a pharmacist who reasonably and in good faith dispenses drugs
pursuant to a prescription written in accordance with section 2312 of the Public Health Law and this
section, shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability or be deemed to
have engaged in unprofessional conduct.
(c) Eligibility criteria for EPT. EPT shall:
(1) be provided only for the partner or
partners of a patient diagnosed with chlamydia trachomatis infection;
and
(2) not be provided for any
partner or partners, when the patient with chlamydia trachomatis infection seen
by the health care practitioner is found to be concurrently infected with
gonorrhea, syphilis or HIV.
(d) Educational material requirements for
patients provided with EPT. Each patient provided with antibiotics or a
prescription in accordance with this section must be given informational
materials for the patient to give to his or her sexual partner or partners.
Each patient shall be counseled by his or her health care practitioner to
inform his or her partner or partners that it is important to read the
information contained in the materials prior to the partner or partners taking
the medication. The materials shall:
(1)
encourage the partner to consult a health care practitioner for a complete
sexually transmitted infection evaluation as a preferred alternative to EPT and
regardless of whether they take the medication;
(2) disclose the risk of potential adverse
drug reactions, including allergic reactions, and the possibility of dangerous
interactions between the patient-delivered therapy and other medications that
the partner may be taking;
(3)
inform the partner that he or she may be affected by other sexually transmitted
infections that may be left untreated by the delivered medicine;
(4) inform the partner that if symptoms of a
more serious infection are present (such as abdominal, pelvic, or testicular
pain, fever, nausea or vomiting) he or she should seek medical care as soon as
possible;
(5) recommend that a
partner who is or could be pregnant should consult a health care practitioner
as soon as possible;
(6) instruct
the patient and the partner to abstain from sexual activity for at least seven
days after treatment of both the patient and the partner in order to decrease
the risk of recurrent infection;
(7) inform a partner who is at high risk of
co-morbidity with HIV infection that he or she should consult a health care
practitioner for a complete medical evaluation including testing for HIV and
other sexually transmitted infections; and
(8) inform the patient and the partner how to
prevent repeated chlamydia infection.
(e) Prescription format. Whenever a health
care practitioner provides EPT through the use of a prescription:
(1) the designation EPT must be written in
the body of the prescription form above the name of the medication and dosage
for all prescriptions issued;
(2)
if the name, address, and date of birth of the sexual partner are available,
this should be written in the designated area of the prescription form;
and
(3) if the sexual partner's
name, address, and date of birth are not available, the written designation EPT
shall be sufficient for the pharmacist to fill the prescription.
(f) Reporting of cases of
Chlamydia trachomatis by health care providers.
(1) This section shall not affect the
obligation to report individual cases and suspected cases of chlamydia
trachomatis imposed by Part 2 of this Title.
(2) Reports of cases of chlamydia trachomatis
who are provided with EPT shall include the added designation of EPT plus the
number of sexual partners for whom a prescription or medication was
provided.
