The governor of Massachusetts has signed a bill providing protection to doctors who prescribe long term antibiotics for Lyme disease. The new law gives doctors discretion to diagnose and treat according to their best clinical judgment.

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Text of Massachusetts law signed by governor:

SECTION 47. Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 12CC the following section:-

Section 12DD.  (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:-

“Long-term antibiotic therapy” the administration of oral, intramuscular or intravenous antibiotics singly or in combination, for periods of time in excess of 4 weeks. 

“Lyme disease” the clinical diagnosis of a patient by a physician, licensed under section 2 of chapter 112 of the presence of signs or symptoms compatible with acute infection with Borrelia burgdorferi; late stage, persistent or chronic infection with Borrelia burgdorferi; complications related to such infection or with such other strains of Borrelia that after adoption of this bill, are recognized by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a cause of Lyme disease.  “Lyme disease” shall also include an infection that meets the surveillance criteria set forth by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease that does not meet the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance criteria but presents other acute and chronic signs or symptoms of Lyme disease as determined by the treating physician.  Such clinical diagnosis shall be based on knowledge obtained through medical history and physical examination only, or in conjunction with testing that provides supportive data for such clinical diagnosis.

(b) A licensed physician may prescribe, administer or dispense long-term antibiotic therapy for a therapeutic purpose to eliminate infection or to control a patient’s symptoms upon making a clinical diagnosis that the patient has Lyme disease or displays symptoms consistent with a clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease, if such clinical diagnosis and treatment are documented in the patient’s medical record by the prescribing licensed physician.

Source website here.