EPT is the clinical practice of treating sex partners of patients diagnosed with a treatable sexually transmitted infection – including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis – without a health care provider first examining the partner. EPT usually involves the implementation of patient-delivered partner therapy, an evidenced based practice to reduce reinfection, in which the patient delivers medication or a prescription to their partner(s). While evaluating the partner and providing other needed health services would be ideal, this is often not feasible and does not happen. Ensuring that all recent partners have been treated is a core aspect of the clinical management of patients diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea and/or trichomoniasis, since reinfections from untreated partners are otherwise common. EPT is effective, safe, and acceptable to patients and partners; it has been allowable in California since 2001 (California Health and Safety Code [HSC] 120582) and is the standard of care to ensure timely partner treatment when partners are unable or unlikely to access clinical care on their own.

A complete overview of EPT is available here: Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) for Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Resource for California Health Care Providers (PDF).

ADAP and PrEP-AP Coverage of EPT:

ADAP and PrEP-AP cover medically necessary pharmacy benefits for the treatment of sexually transmitted infection. If a client with ADAP or PrEP-AP coverage is diagnosed with gonorrhea, chlamydia or trichomoniasis and their healthcare provider determines that offering EPT is medically necessary to prevent reinfection of the client, then prescriptions for EPT (including doxycycline, azithromycin, cefixime, and metronidazole) will be covered as a pharmacy benefit. The medical provider may provide the ADAP or PrEP-AP client with a prescription, written in the name of the client, for medications with a quantity and duration of therapy sufficient to prevent reinfection of the client by treating the client's partner(s).The prescription should be written in the index patient's name and should specify how many separately labelled bottles are needed for partners (up to 5 partners). The prescription must include the words “Expedited Partner Therapy” or “EPT.​​”​​​ See this guide including page nine on how write the prescription: How to Prescribe Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) for Sexually Transmitted Infections (PDF).

An alternative approach is for the medical provider to dispense medication directly to the client to provide to their partner(s) if these medications are available at the clinic. ADAP does not reimburse for clinically administered medications, so another funding source would be required for this approach with ADAP clients (such as through Essential Access Health's EPT distribution program). PrEP-AP does reimburse for certain clinically administered medications (e.g., azithromycin, cefixime, and metronidazole) if provided by a PrEP-AP clinical provider. For more information, please see list of allowable PrEP-AP Clinically Administered Medications.

ADAP management requests that you share this information with your clinical leadership team and local prescribers. If you have any questions regarding the addition of these medications to the ADAP formulary, please contact the OA Formulary Specialist, James Vo (James.Vo@cdph.ca.gov )

Thank you,​

Joseph Lagrama
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ADAP Branch Chief

California Department of Public Health

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