More STD Testing is Needed!
Although sex education is much more common now than a few years ago, STD testing is still not performed often enough. Less than 40% of sexually active young women are screened for chlamydia. This is even more shocking when you consider that in the United States over 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections occur. Most of these infections occur from just eight varieties of viruses and bacteria, all of which can be detected through relatively fast STD testing. We can raise the number of people tested for STDs through anonymous STD testing, so there is no stigma attached to their name. Many community health clinics practice confidential STD testing, and many government programs seek to lower the cost of testing.
STD Testing at Urgent Care Facilities
STD testing is often performed at urgent care facilities that are already overworked. At home STD testing is available in some instances, but the accuracy is not guaranteed. As more people now have health insurance the need for more urgent care facilities grows. Since 2008, the number of urgent care facilities in the country has increased from 8,000 to 9,300. The number of doctors practicing urgent care medicine today is also growing, there are currently 20,000 physicians practicing Urgent Care Medicine, and if this trend continues we will need 52,000 by the year 2025. Since STD testing is a service performed at these clinics, and most urgent care centers need to keep patients moving quickly, fast STD testing is a necessity.
Spread STD Knowledge
Although there are many areas in our healthcare system that need improvement, improved and more available STD testing is one of the most important. Lack of STD knowledge can lead to increased rates of infertility, cervical cancer, even nerve disease in some cases. Our young people need to be aware of the dangers of unprotected sex and the lack of regular STD testing if they are sexually active.
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