STD Reporting Guidelines
What
has changed about the
reporting of notifiable conditions?
An extensive revision of Chapter 64D-3, Florida Administrative Code, entitled
Control of Communicable Diseases and Conditions Which May Significantly Affect
Public Health, was completed with an effective date of November 20, 2006.
Another update was completed with an effective date of November 24, 2008.
Of note, chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis testing is
mandated during pregnancy, with an opt-out approach. Emergency departments may
satisfy testing requirements by referring pregnant women of 12 weeks or greater
gestation presenting with no record of prenatal care to the county health
department for testing.
The reporting timeframe of immediately is only applicable for syphilis in
pregnant women and neonates. AIDS and HIV laboratory test reports are to be
reported within 3 days, while the associated diagnosis requires reporting within
2 weeks. All other STD tests are to be reported the next business day.
With the 2008 update of Chapter 64D-3, Florida Administrative Code, there are
several changes to highlight:
-
Reporting of herpes simplex virus in infants was previously reportable in
infants up to six months old. This was modified to be reportable in infants up
to 60 days old.
-
Except for pathologists, practitioners are no longer required to report human papillomavirus cancer associated strains. Pathologists and laboratories have the
same reporting requirements.
-
ELR was expanded to allow ASCII delimited flat files that reflect comparable
content to HL7 version 2.3.1. utilized by the Department of Health.
How Do I Report a Sexually Transmitted Disease?
If you are a practitioner, you should report diagnosis of a
sexually transmitted disease to your local county health department. Click here
for a
listing of county health departments. (When you select the county health
department closest to you, scroll down to STD Case Reporting-Private for address
and fax information.) or
locate a clinic near you.
Reports by practitioners of all STDs except HIV/AIDS are to be made on the
Florida single disease report form,
DH 2136
(PDF 62KB). HIV/AIDS cases are to be reported on a special CDC form and can be
found on the
Bureau of
Communicable Diseases, HIV/AIDS Section website.
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not
want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do
not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone
or in writing.
If you are a laboratory, you should contact the department about electronic
laboratory reporting. To discuss ELR implementation, please contact Kenya
Roberts, Bureau of Epidemiology at (850) 245-4444 x 2370, or
ELR@doh.state.fl.us.
Until you have implemented electronic reporting, you must continue to report to
the local county health department having jurisdiction for the area in which the
office of the submitting practitioner or the patient's residence is located.
Where Can I Find More Information on Changes to Disease Reporting?
Please find more information regarding Florida Administrative Code 64D-3 below.
To view the complete Florida Administrative Code 64D-3 please select
64D-3 Final
2008 (PDF
247 KB).
To obtain the disease report form please select it from the navigation bar at left or
select the disease report form
Disease Report Form (PDF
62KB).
