SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in California have been increasing in recent years and newly reported in 2005 there were 130,700 infections of chlamydia, 34,400 infections of gonorrhea, 6,500 infections of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 3,300 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and 1,600 infections of syphilis.
(b) Public health officials employ a variety of methods to control STD infections, including preventing infections from occurring and treating patients after exposure to an STD.
(c) Patient-delivered therapy for chlamydia was authorized in California by Chapter 835 of the Statutes of 2000 (Senate Bill 648, Ortiz) and enables qualified medical practitioners to provide prescription antibiotic drugs to a patient’s sexual partner or partners without examination of that patient’s partner or partners.
(d) Since enactment of patient-delivered therapy for chlamydia published studies have documented that the rate of persistent or recurrent infections of gonorrhea also can be reduced by utilizing patient-delivered therapy for sexual partners.
(e) Patient-delivered therapy for gonorrhea is safe and effective when provided with appropriate instruction, and has recently been recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to authorize qualified medical practitioners to provide patient-delivered therapy to the sexual partners of patients
diagnosed with gonorrhea in order to reduce persistent and recurrent infections.