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2012 SESSION

12101478D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 147
Offered January 11, 2012
Prefiled January 11, 2012
Directing the Joint Commission on Health Care to study options for expedited partner therapy in the Commonwealth. Report.
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Patron-- Herring
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease, with more than 1.3 million reported cases, or 426 cases per 100,000 population, in the United States and 30,797 reported cases, or 392.9 cases per 100,000 population, in Virginia in 2010; and

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease, with 309,341 reported cases, or 100.8 cases per 100,000 population, in the United States and 7,402 reported cases, or 93.9 cases per 100,000 population, in Virginia in 2010; and

WHEREAS, both chlamydia and gonorrhea can be successfully treated with antibiotics; and

WHEREAS, expedited partner therapy is the clinical practice of treating the sex partners of patients diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea by providing prescriptions or medications for the patient's partner to the patient, without requiring an examination by the health care provider prescribing or providing the medication; and

WHEREAS, in August of 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended expedited partner therapy as an evidence-based option to manage infection with chlamydia and gonorrhea, prevent re-infection, and curtail further transmission; and

WHEREAS, since 2006, the American Bar Association, American Medical Association, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have stated their support for expedited partner therapy as an option for treating chlamydia and gonorrhea and reducing rates of infection with chlamydia and gonorrhea; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Joint Commission on Health Care be directed to study options for implementing expedited partner therapy in the Commonwealth.

In conducting its study, the Joint Commission on Health Care shall identify model programs for expedited partner therapy in other states; identify any costs and benefits associated with implementation of expedited partner therapy in the Commonwealth; identify current statutory, regulatory, and policy barriers to implementation of expedited partner therapy in the Commonwealth; and develop recommendations for implementation of expedited partner therapy in the Commonwealth.

Technical assistance shall be provided to the Joint Commission on Health Care by the Virginia Department of Health. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Joint Commission on Health Care for this study, upon request.

The Joint Commission on Health Care shall complete its meetings for the first year by November 30, 2012, and for the second year by November 30, 2013, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the next Regular Session of the General Assembly for each year. Each executive summary shall state whether the Joint Commission on Health Care intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summaries and reports shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.