Expedited Partner Therapy: A Multicomponent Initiative to Boost Provider Counseling

Abstract

Background Expedited partner therapy prescription remains low and highly variable throughout the United States, leading to frequent reinfections with Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. We examined provider counseling on expedited partner therapy before and after an electronic smart tool–based initiative. Methods In this quasi-experimental interrupted time-series study, we implemented an initiative of electronic smart tools and education for expedited partner therapy in March 2020. We reviewed the records of patients with chlamydia and/or gonorrhea at an urban, academic obstetrics and gynecology clinic in the preimplementation (March 2019–February 2020) and postimplementation (March 2020–February 2021) groups. Descriptive statistics and an interrupted time-series model were used to compare the percent of expedited partner therapy offered by clinicians to patients in each group. Results A total of 287 patient encounters were analyzed, 155 preintervention and 132 postintervention. An increase in expedited partner therapy counseling of 13% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2%–24%) was observed before the intervention (27.1% [42 of 155]) versus after the intervention (40.2% [53 of 132]). Significant increases in provider counseling were seen for patients who were single (15%; 95% CI, 3%–26%), 25 years or older (21%; 95% CI, 6%–37%), receiving public insurance (15%; 95% CI, 3%–27%), seen by a registered nurse (18%; 95% CI, 4%–32%), or seen for an obstetrics indication (21%; 95% CI, 4%–39%). No difference was seen in patients' acceptance of expedited partner therapy (P = 1.00). Conclusions A multicomponent initiative focused on electronic smart tools is effective at increasing provider counseling on expedited partner therapy. Further research to understand patient perceptions and acceptance of expedited partner therapy is critical.