(1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4), the department and its authorized representatives may examine or cause to be examined persons suspected of being infected with or exposed to a sexually transmissible disease.

(2) Subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4), persons with a sexually transmissible disease shall report for appropriate treatment to a physician licensed under the provisions of chapter 458 or chapter 459, or shall submit to treatment at a county health department or other public facility.

(3) No person shall be apprehended, examined, or treated for a sexually transmissible disease against his or her will, except upon the order of a court of competent jurisdiction. In petitioning the court for a hearing for such an order, the department shall show by clear and convincing evidence that a threat to the public’s health and welfare exists unless such order is issued and shall show that all other reasonable means of obtaining compliance have been exhausted and that no other less restrictive alternative is available.

(4) No order requiring a person to be examined or treated for a sexually transmissible disease shall be issued unless:

(a) A hearing has been held of which the person has received at least 72 hours’ prior written notification and unless the person has received a list of the proposed actions to be taken and the reasons for each one.

(b) The person has the right to attend the hearing, to cross-examine witnesses, and to present evidence.

(c) The person has a right to an attorney to represent him or her, and to have an attorney appointed on the person’s behalf if he or she cannot afford one.

(5) In issuing an order requiring a person to be examined or treated, the court may, at the request of the department and upon a showing of good cause, also order the person to participate in a designated education or counseling program, or appear before the department at regular intervals for periodic retesting, or both, as the court determines appropriate based on the person’s actions, statements, and risk to the public.

(6) When a sexually transmissible disease is not capable of being treated on an outpatient basis in order to render it noncommunicable, or when a sexually transmissible disease can be treated only by requiring hospitalization, placement in a residential facility, or other similar methods, the provisions of s. 384.28 rather than this section shall be applied. However, a person may be examined for this type of sexually transmissible disease under the provisions of this section.

(7)(a) A health care practitioner licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or s. 464.012 may provide expedited partner therapy if the following requirements are met:

1. The patient has a laboratory-confirmed or suspected clinical diagnosis of a sexually transmissible disease.

2. The patient indicates that he or she has a partner with whom he or she engaged in sexual activity before the diagnosis of the sexually transmissible disease.

3. The patient indicates that his or her partner is unable or unlikely to seek clinical services in a timely manner.

(b) A pharmacist licensed under chapter 465 may dispense medication to a person diagnosed with a sexually transmissible disease pursuant to a prescription for the purpose of treating that person’s partner, regardless of whether the person’s partner has been personally examined by the prescribing health care practitioner.

(c) A pharmacist or health care practitioner must check for potential allergic reactions, in accordance with the prevailing professional standard of care, before dispensing a prescription or providing a medication under this subsection.

(d) The department may adopt rules to implement this subsection.

History.—s. 90, ch. 86-220; s. 29, ch. 88-380; s. 9, ch. 89-350; s. 676, ch. 95-148; s. 67, ch. 97-101; s. 8, ch. 2016-230; s. 19, ch. 2018-106.