Urban emergency departments (EDs) have become a common testing site for sexually transmitted infections, particularly for patients who are out of care due to insurance or access barriers. However, a positive result in the ED often doesn’t translate into treatment or ongoing prevention. At The University of Chicago Medicine, a EMR based algorithm flags positive STI results from the ED, and the Sexual Wellness Clinic (SWC) follows up with patients: confirming treatment, offering health education, and connecting them to sexual health care and PrEP. In this session, I’ll walk through what that follow up work looks like. The contact strategies that work when phone numbers and housing change frequently, how ED and SWC staff hand off patients, and the barriers (insurance, PrEP adherence, primary care follow up) that persist even after a patient is reached.
Featured Speaker:
Damaris Garcia
Aniruddha (Anu) Hazra, MD
Associate Professor, Section of Infectious Diseases and Global Health
Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program
Medical Director, UCM Sexual Wellness Clinic
Director of STI Services, Chicago Center of HIV Elimination
Department of Medicine
University of Chicago
