February 4, 2021

Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT)

Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT):

Emergency Room physicians brought up the issue of EPT, or the “clinical practice of treating the sex partners of patients diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea by providing prescriptions or medications to the patient to take to his/her partner without the health care provider first examining the partner.” The Board of Medical Examiners addressed this issue in 2011, and then rescinded its policy in in 2013 due to the requirement of a physician-patient relationship as a prerequisite to prescribing medication. The BME readdressed this issue in its February 1, 2021 Board Meeting and has posted an updated interpreting S.C. Code Ann. § 40-47-113(B) to allow for the use of EPT. If you are interested in the full opinion click here.