As the U.S. Continues to Open Up More, Are You Prepared to See More Patients with STIs?

Being freed from pressure to social distance and, more and more now, from being required to wear a mask in public spaces is reopening a lot of doors for people who’ve been isolated for too long. It’s natural to assume that, at least for some portion of the population, we could see an uptick in rates of sexually transmitted infection. Whether coincidentally or by design, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest update on guidelines for treating STIs has arrived at an opportune time for urgent care provides (who, anecdotal evidence suggests, see a disproportionate number of prospective STI patients who prefer anonymity over seeing their “regular” doctor). As noted in the Journal of the American Medical Associationarticle conveying the meat of the guidelines, rates of several STIs have been on the rise for years. Congenital syphilis was becoming increasingly common, having increased by 279% between 2015 and 2019, right before the world shut down for COVID-19. The question now is, will that trend return to form? If so, it may behoove you to read  Syphilis in the Urgent Care Center, available now in the JUCM archive.