Allen’s advocacy helped bill become law

Sometimes one person can make a big difference in passing legisla­tion. MSSC member Patrick Allen, MD, is a case in point.

MSSC distributed a survey in December 2023 regarding expedited partner therapy, which is the practice of treating the sexual partners of patients diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases by providing prescriptions or medications to patients to take to their partners without the healthcare provider first examining the partners. Uncertainty about whether the practice was allowable in Kansas created confusion and hesitation among providers.

Allen, a KUSM-Wichita faculty member with the Ascension Via Christi Family Medicine Residency program and HIV Specialist at KU Midtown Clinic, expressed interest in supporting legislation that would explicitly protect providers who prescribe EPT. He met with a local lawmaker who agreed to sponsor a bill, and Allen submitted written testimony and provided oral testimony dur­ing the 2024 legislative session in Topeka. However, the legislation faced some op­position in the House and Senate Health committees and didn’t advance.

“I was quite defeated and promised my­self I wouldn’t waste my time again,” Allen told MSSC.

But this past January, Allen took a few Family Medicine residents to the Kansas Medical Society’s Advocacy Day, where he connected with Sen. Bill Clifford, MD, an ophthalmologist from Garden City who is vice-chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. Clifford agreed to rein­troduce the bill, and the two of them started strategizing.

“This time I was informed with what the arguments against the bill would be, so I reached out directly to some of the oppo­nents on the Health Committee,” Allen said.

Through these conversations, Allen was able to alleviate some of the concerns of lawmakers. The bill passed the Senate Health Committee and passed unanimously in the full Senate. Clifford ended up having to add EPT as an amendment to another bill in conference committee, which ultimately was approved and signed into law.

“It took relationships, persistence, directly addressing concerns with warmth, connection and humility, and also some strategic politicking from people in the right positions within the Senate and House,” Allen said. “And some lucky timing.”

KMS Executive Director Rachelle Colombo praised Allen as a great example of the value of personal engagement in advocacy.

“Though the issue had languished in previous years, he was not deterred and brought a fresh perspective and message and was buoyed by the personal connec­tions to key legislators forged at Advocacy Day,” she said.