HEALTH/MEDICAL TREATMENT: Provides relative to expedited partner therapy (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX See Note)
Summary
HB 779 expands Louisiana’s expedited partner therapy (EPT) law. Under current law, EPT allows a licensed physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant to provide medication or a prescription for a patient’s sexual partner without examining that partner when the patient has gonorrhea or chlamydia. This bill keeps that framework in place and adds trichomoniasis and any other sexually associated infection that the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) later identifies as eligible for EPT.
The bill also authorizes EPT to be used without a doctor-patient, nurse-patient, or physician assistant-patient relationship with the partner, and without a separate examination or clinical assessment of the partner. It requires the patient to receive a written document to pass along to the partner, and it directs LDH to create and maintain a list of infections that qualify for EPT. In addition, the bill provides civil and criminal liability protection, and protection from unprofessional conduct findings, for covered prescribers and pharmacists who act reasonably and in good faith under the statute.
Impact
HB 779 amends R.S. 40:1121.6 to broaden the scope of Louisiana’s EPT statute and to shift some implementation authority to LDH. The practical effect is to allow treatment of additional sexually associated infections through partner therapy, which may improve access to timely treatment and reduce reinfection and transmission. It also creates explicit liability protections for prescribers and pharmacists and requires LDH to define which infections are eligible, making the department a key regulator of the program.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong support for the bill: it passed the House unanimously, 95-0, and there are no committee transcripts indicating opposition or significant debate. The bill was ultimately signed by the Governor as Act 567, suggesting broad agreement that expanding expedited partner therapy is a public health measure with limited controversy.
Contention
The main policy issue is the breadth of the expansion and the delegation of authority to LDH. Supporters appear to favor adding trichomoniasis and other infections to improve treatment access and public health outcomes, while any potential concerns would center on allowing treatment without examining the partner, the absence of a direct provider-patient relationship, and the scope of liability protections for clinicians and pharmacists. Because the bill was adopted unanimously and without recorded committee debate, no organized opposition is evident in the available record.