State Law Requires Patients to make appointments with Doctor on all STD testing
Full Question:
Answer:
Maryland state statutes require a health officer to act properly to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Standards for proper action are governed by professional standards. The Center for Disease Control guidelines advocate counseling be provided to those tested positive for herpes.
The following is MD statute:
§ 18-208 HEALTH-GEN. General duties of health officer to control
infectious, contagious disease.
(a) Dangerous diseases. —
(1) When a health officer has reason to
believe that a disease that endangers public health exists within the
county, the health officer shall:
(i) Report immediately to the appropriate county board of health; and
(ii) With the approval of the board:
1. Investigate the suspected disease; and
2. Act properly to prevent the spread of the disease.
(2)
(i) Except in Baltimore City, the attending physician of an
individual who has the disease may act properly to prevent the spread of
the disease and does not need the approval of the county board of health
to act.
(ii) A physician may act under this paragraph only until the health
officer completes the investigation under paragraph (1) of this
subsection or, if sooner, until the emergency ends.
(3) A county board of health shall pay the necessary and legitimate
expenses that a health officer incurs under this subsection.
(b) Infectious and contagious diseases. — When a health officer
is notified of an infectious or contagious disease within the county, the
health officer:
(1) Shall act immediately to prevent the spread of the disease;
(2) Within 24 hours after receiving notice of the disease, shall give
the Secretary all information obtained on the disease; and
(3) Shall cooperate with the Secretary to prevent the spread of the
disease.
(c) Other diseases. —
(1) When a health officer knows of any unusual
disease or mortality in the county or a contiguous county, the health
officer promptly shall give the Secretary notice of the disease or
mortality.
(2) If a health officer is unsure whether a disease is infectious or
contagious, the health officer shall notify the Secretary.
The following is a guideline for treatment of herpes from the Center for Disease Control:
The clinical diagnosis of genital herpes is both insensitive and nonspecific. The classical painful multiple vesicular or ulcerative lesions are absent in many infected persons. Up to 50% of first-episode cases of genital herpes are caused by HSV-1 (63), but recurrences and subclinical shedding are much less frequent for genital HSV-1 infection than genital HSV-2 infection (64,65). Therefore, whether genital herpes is caused by HSV-1 or HSV-2 influences prognosis and counseling. Therefore, the clinical diagnosis of genital herpes should be confirmed by laboratory testing (66). Both virologic and type-specific serologic tests for HSV should be available in clinical settings that provide care for patients with STDs or those at risk for STDs.