Partner Treatment for STIs

August 31, 2023

In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that health care providers who treat patients for chlamydia and gonorrhea also provide treatment for the patient’s partner, even if the partner has not been seen by the provider. In response to this recommendation, several states have adopted laws and regulations to implement so-called expedited partner therapy (EPT). Most of these state policies follow the CDC guidelines and recommend this course of treatment for gonorrhea and chlamydia infections. In other cases, states allow EPT for the treatment of all STIs or only for specific infections, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia or trichomoniasis. Several of these states encourage or require the health care practitioner to provide information about STIs to the patient to give to their partner.

Highlights

38 states and the District of Columbia allow health care practitioners to provide at least some STI treatment for the partner of a patient diagnosed with an STI without first examining the partner.
- 8 states allow treatment for all or most STIs.
- 30 states and the District of Columbia permit treatment for specific STIs.
  - 30 states and the District of Columbia allow treatment for chlamydia.
  - 28 states and the District of Columbia allow treatment for gonorrhea.
  - 6 states and the District of Columbia permit treatment for trichomoniasis.
15 states and the District of Columbia encourage or require health care practitioners to provide patients with information about STIs to give to their partner.

Current Policy Status Table

Expedited Partner Therapy
STATE	PERMITS TREATMENT OF A PATIENT'S PARTNER FOR:				INFORMATION FOR A PATIENT'S PARTNER
STATE	All or Most STIs	Chlamydia	Gonorrhea	Trichomoniasis	INFORMATION FOR A PATIENT'S PARTNER
Alaska	X
Arizona	X
Arkansas^*		X	X
California	X
Colorado	X
Connecticut		X	X
Delaware^†,‡		X	X		Required
District of Columbia		X	X	X	Required
Georgia		X	X
Hawaii		X	X
Idaho^‡		X	X
Illinois^†		X	X		Required
Indiana		X	X		Required
Iowa		X	X
Kentucky		X	X	X
Louisiana		X	X		Required
Maine^†	X				Required
Maryland		X	X	X
Massachusetts		X			Encouraged
Michigan ^*,^†		X	X
Minnesota^‡		X	X
Missouri		X	X
Nebraska		X	X	X	Required
Nevada^‡		X	X
New Hampshire	X
New Jersey*		X	X
New Mexico^†		X	X	X	Encouraged
New York		X	X		Required
North Carolina^‡		X	X
North Dakota	X
Ohio		X	X	X	Required
Oregon^†		X	X		Encouraged
Rhode Island		X	X
Tennessee^†		X			Required
Texas	X
Utah		X	X
Vermont		X^Ψ	X		Required
Washington		X	X		Required
West Virgina^Ω,†
Wisconsin		X	X	X	Required
TOTAL	8	30+DC	28+DC	6+DC	15+DC
* State policy is limited to different-sex partners. † Allows treatment of a partner exposed to the infection in the 60 days before the patient was diagnosed. ‡ Requires providers to follow CDC guidelines, which recommend expedited partner treatment for different-sex partners of a patient with chlamydia or gonorrhea. Ψ The state is developing regulations to expand partner therapy to additional conditions. Ω The state is developing guidelines on conditions eligible for therapy.