Bills Call for More Lyme Disease Education

The state would ramp up public and professional education on Lyme disease under bills that have been introduced in the General Assembly.  

The Pennsylvania Medical Society supports Senate Bill 346 and its efforts to increase awareness of this disease.  

However, the State Society does not support House Bill 894, which is similar to SB 346 but endorses a specific course of treatment for Lyme disease. The State Society’s House of Delegates in 2005 passed a resolution to formally oppose any legislation that defines acceptable treatment for a specific disease.

Under both bills, the state Department of Health would be charged with developing education on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease with the assistance of health care provider professional associations, such as the Pennsylvania Medical Society. 

The Health Department also would coordinate with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to increase public awareness of the dangers of Lyme disease and ways to prevent it. 

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Comments: 1


Doctors in PA need to be educated to recognize, dx and treat Lyme appropriately. I have heard of doctors that don't even know what the rash looks like and send their patients home with a lotion instead of an abx. The sooner the treatment the better especially if an OVAL or bulls eye rash is present.

anonymous at 12/1/2009 3:41:25 PM

Last Updated: 3/18/2009
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