I. Statutes/regs on health care providers’ authority
to prescribe for STDs to a patient’s partner(s) w/out prior evaluation (Explanation) |
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II. Specific judicial decisions concerning EPT (or like practices) (Explanation) |
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III. Specific administrative opinions by the Attorney General
or medical or pharmacy boards concerning EPT (or like practices) (Explanation) |
In 2003, the Board of Registration in Medicine issued a policy on
internet prescriptions, providing that “to satisfy the requirement
that a prescription be issued by a practitioner in the usual course of
his professional practice, there must be a physician-patient relationship
that is for the purpose of maintaining the patient’s well-being and
the physician must conform to certain minimum norms and standards for the
care of patients, such as taking an adequate medical history and conducting
an appropriate physical and/or mental status examination and recording
the results.” It concluded that issuance of a prescription “by
any means, including the internet,…that does not meet these requirements
is therefore unlawful.” Note that the Board did not clarify, in citing
a statutory provision on prescriptions for controlled substances, whether
its position on issuing prescriptions without an exam also applies to the
issuance of non-controlled substances.
[Link to Massachusetts Board Opinion] |
IV. Legislative bills or prospective regulations concerning EPT
(or like practices) (Explanation) |
Bill introduced to legalize EPT for Chlamydia. Status: introduced (not
passed). S.B. 650 183rd Sess. (Ma. 2003). |
V. Laws that incorporate via reference guidelines as acceptable
practices (including EPT) (Explanation) |
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VI. Prescription requirements (Explanation) |
Dispensing means “the physical act of delivery a drug…to
an ultimate user.” 247 CMR 2.00 |
VII. Assessment of EPT’s legal status with brief comments (Explanation) |
EPT is potentially allowable.
Statutory law does not preclude EPT, although the medical board requires
that a physician conduct an appropriate physical exam and establish a
physician patient relationship prior to issuing prescriptions. The 2003
introduction of a bill to legalize EPT for the treatment of chlamydia
suggests support for the practice of EPT.
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Status as of August 16, 2006 |