Legal Status of EPT in Virginia

“Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners who treat male [partners] for STDs must have authorization for and have received specific training in such practice, as documented in the written protocol between the nurse practitioner and the supervising physician. In addition, any prescription written for STDs shall be issued for a medicinal therapeutic purpose to a person with whom the practitioner has a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship….”
 

“Regulations incorporate, but are not limited to: “the “Methods of Control” sections of the 20th Edition of the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual (2015) published by the American Public Health Association. The board and commissioner reserve the right to use any legal means to control any disease which is a threat to the public health.” 12 Va. Admin. Code § 5-90-100

The prescription shall contain the patient’s name and address. Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-3408.01(A)

EPT is potentially allowable

The Board of Nursing and Medicine opinion requires a “bona fide practitioner-patient relationship,” although this term is only defined in statutes relating to the regulation of controlled substances under Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-3303(A). Absent an express statutory preclusion, the health board and commissioner may exercise their authority to proffer EPT as a potential measure to treat diseases (like STDs) that pose a threat to the public’s health.