Urgent Care Providers, Be Aware: STDs Are More Common Than Ever

Despite ready availability of condoms—as well as information through providers, public outreach campaigns, and the ubiquitous internet, cases of sexually transmitted disease reported in the U.S. reached an all-time high last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Combined reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis totaled more than 1.8 million in 2015, according to the CDC’s annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report. Sadly, those numbers are probably lower than the true number of cases because too many STD cases are undiagnosed and untreated because of patients’ embarrassment or perceptions that they will be judged by providers. Those are precisely the reasons patients may opt to seek treatment in an urgent care center rather than a primary care provider they have an ongoing healthcare relationship with.