Curriculum · Public Health and Communicable Diseases
Partner notification in sexually transmitted infection
What it is
Partner notification means reaching the sexual partners of a patient diagnosed with Chlamydia so that they can be treated as well. It runs against the usual duty of confidentiality. Even so, when a pregnant 20-year-old woman is diagnosed with a Chlamydia infection, is treated and cured, and then tests positive again at a follow-up visit, contacting her sexual partners is considered a reasonable breach of confidentiality.
What the item asks, and what it does not answer
The item is written as the reason rather than the act: contacting her sexual partners is considered a reasonable breach of confidentiality because, and then four reasons are offered — there is a public health risk; there is a risk to the fetus; the patient's Chlamydia infection has become resistant to antibiotics; there is a risk of pelvic inflammatory disease. The page is the question page and carries no answer against it, so what it fixes is the situation in which the breach is reasonable, not which of the four reasons is taken.
Who does the notifying
A patient diagnosed with Chlamydia should be offered a choice of provider for initial partner notification: either trained practice nurses with support from GUM, or referral to GUM.