Expedited Partner Therapy Expansion for Bacterial Vaginosis
Summary
Maryland Senate Bill 394 expands Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) to include bacterial vaginosis and adds licensed certified midwives as authorized practitioners. The bill passed the Senate 44-0 on February 26, 2026, and received House Health Committee approval on April 1, 2026. The legislation allows healthcare providers to prescribe or dispense antibiotic therapy to sexual partners of diagnosed patients without a physical examination.
What changed
Maryland SB394 amends the state's Expedited Partner Therapy statute to add bacterial vaginosis to the list of qualifying diagnoses and includes licensed certified midwives among authorized healthcare practitioners. Previously, only physicians, nurse practitioners, and certain other prescribers could provide antibiotics to sexual partners of patients with specific STIs without examining the partner. The bill authorizes additional practitioner categories to deliver partner therapy for a broader range of conditions.
Healthcare providers and licensed certified midwives in Maryland should update clinical protocols to incorporate bacterial vaginosis into EPT practices and ensure staff understand the expanded scope of authorized practitioners. The bill passed both chambers and takes effect with the 2026 regular session laws unless a different effective date is specified. Providers should review state medical board guidance on documentation requirements for EPT prescriptions and dispenses.
What to do next
- Update clinical protocols to include bacterial vaginosis in Expedited Partner Therapy offerings
- Train licensed certified midwives on expanded EPT authority
- Review documentation requirements for partner therapy prescriptions
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Maryland / SB394 Passed SB394 Senate Bill Passed 2026-02-26
Public Health - Expedited Partner Therapy - Bacterial Vaginosis
Adding bacterial vaginosis to the list of diagnoses for which certain health care practitioners may prescribe, dispense, or otherwise provide antibiotic therapy to a sexual partner of a diagnosed patient without making a personal physical assessment of the sexual partner; and adding licensed certified midwives to the list of health care practitioners who may prescribe, dispense, or otherwise provide antibiotic therapy to a sexual partner of a diagnosed patient without making a certain assessment of the sexual partner.
Bill Details
State Maryland
Session 2026 Regular Session
Chamber Senate
Official Source mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation...
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Dawn Gile (Sen - D)
Action History
2026-04-01 H Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed 2026-04-01 H Favorable Report by Health 2026-03-17 H Hearing 3/25 at 1:00 p.m. 2026-02-27 H Referred Health 2026-02-26 S Third Reading Passed (44-0) 2026-02-24 S Second Reading Passed with Amendments 2026-02-24 S Favorable with Amendments {773728/1 Adopted 2026-02-23 S Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance 2026-02-02 S Hearing 2/10 at 1:00 p.m. 2026-01-28 S First Reading Finance
Votes
2026-02-26 Third Reading Passed Yea: 44 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-28 S Finance 2026-02-27 H Health
Amendments
2026-02-24 Favorable with Amendments 773728/1 Adopted Adopted
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-28 Introduced 2026-02-24 Engrossed
Subjects
Public Health Health Occupations Drugs Health Medical Conditions Medical Treatments Sexual Matters Midwives Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
Named provisions
Related changes
Source
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get Government & Legislation alerts
Weekly digest. AI-summarized, no noise.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when State Bills: Maryland publishes new changes.