FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Audrey Ann Ross
215-985-2619
Statement from AccessMatters’ President & CEO Melissa Weiler Gerber Applauding Governor Wolf for Signing Senate Bill 317 – The Expedited Partner Therapy Act – Into Law
[PHILADELPHIA, PA – November 3, 2022]: Earlier today, Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 317 – The Expedited Partner Therapy Act into law in Pennsylvania. AccessMatters’ released the following statement from Melissa Weiler Gerber:
“AccessMatters applauds the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor Wolf for the recent passage of Senate Bill 317 – the Expedited Partner Therapy Act. This law will help reduce barriers and increase access to expedited partner therapy (EPT), an evidence-based, cost-effective method of reducing community spread of STIs by removing barriers to care.
EPT is a public health practice that can reduce STI rates, particularly among adolescents and young adults, by increasing access to STI treatment and care. EPT is a patient-delivered partner therapy used to help prevent the spread of STIs by providing a patient with extra medication or a prescription to give to their sexual partner(s) who are unable or unwilling to seek treatment.
Prescription treatments for these common STIs are safe and effective, rarely require follow-up care, and reduce reinfection rates. Compelling data from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) speaks to the need for therapies and interventions that help treat not only the patient, but also the patient’s sexual partner(s), to avoid reinfection after the patient’s course of treatment has completed. EPT is a widely-supported, evidence-based practice recommended by many medical professional organizations to reduce transmission and help mitigate serious health concerns.
Establishing into law Senate Bill 317, which specifically authorizes EPT and removes regulatory barriers to the use of EPT, facilitates increased uptake. Pennsylvania has STI rates that have been steadily increasing,1 and this new law is an important step forward to reduce transmission and help mitigate serious health concerns through increased access to care.
AccessMatters’ mission is to protect, expand, and enhance equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for all people. This new law is a critical step forward to increasing access to STI treatment and deceasing rates of STIs throughout Pennsylvania.”
– Melissa Weiler Gerber, President & CEO
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AccessMatters’ mission is to protect, expand, and enhance equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for all people. For more information about AccessMatters’ programs, follow @AccessMatters4U on Twitter, and @AccessMatters on Facebook.