IN the smartphone age, when romantic hookups happen in a flash, the technology itself has been blamed for an increase in sexually transmitted diseases.
In May, Utah and Rhode Island health authorities made headlines by blaming hookup apps for a sharp increase in STDs, including HIV and syphilis, among young people. Whether the apps are to blame likely requires more study, but certainly the mechanisms for finding a sexual partner have changed and accelerated the process.
Thus, the idea of accelerating the process of checking one’s sexual health is a good idea, though the clinical system for doing that had remained mired in a system as archaic as snail mail.
In this day especially, knowing one’s sexual health before entering a sexual relationship is the responsible thing to do.
For Dorian Just of Miami Beach, Fla., getting results for STD or HIV tests at her local clinic took two appointments — one to take the tests and one to retrieve the results. “It was time and money; the clinic charged me co-pays for each visit,” she said.
Now that the clinic uses new Healthvana software, though, she receives HIV results immediately and can access her STD results from the lab by cellphone or email.
“It takes about a week, as opposed to the two weeks I used to have to wait for the second appointment,” Just said.
Focusing on sexually transmitted diseases made sense because of the popularity of dating apps, said Ramin Bastani, CEO of Los Angeles-based Healthvana. “The apps make it simple to meet people and hook up,” he said. “But people want to be able to tell their new partners that they’ve tested negative for STDs and HIV as soon as possible.”
Before clinics used his software, Bastani said, “The patient was told, ‘We’ll call you if anything is wrong,'” he explained. “So he was left waiting, not knowing if the doctor didn’t have the results yet or if his results were negative. Now he gets the results as soon as the doctor gets them from the lab. With HIV, he gets them instantly because that test is done in the doctor’s office.”
Patients who receive a positive result on an HIV test are referred to a counselor to review treatment options.
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The software enables patients to share proof of their health status with partners. “One patient posted his test results on Instagram,” Bastani said.
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