STI E-Visits Were Used More Often by Patients at Higher Risk

A retrospective cohort study in a large Northern and Central California health system examined STI testing completed from 2022 to 2024. E-visit users were more likely than non-users to have a prior STI diagnosis and to receive an STI diagnosis after testing, although findings may not generalize to less integrated systems.

15% of adults completing STI testing used the e-visit.
Users were more likely to have a prior STI diagnosis.
Post-test STI diagnoses were more common among e-visit users.
Generalizability to less integrated systems may be limited.

Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults in a large integrated healthcare system in Northern and Central California who completed STI testing between February 13, 2022, and December 31, 2024. The system’s sexual health e-visit allowed users to order laboratory-based testing, with specimen collection, results, and treatment managed within the system. The analysis included 979,557 adults; 150,128 (15%) used the e-visit for testing, with a median of 8,822 users per month.

Compared with non-users, e-visit users were younger (median age 31 vs 37) and more likely to be male (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] 1.26, 95% CI 1.24–1.27), Black (APR 1.36, 95% CI 1.34–1.38), or previously diagnosed with an STI (APR 2.58, 95% CI 2.53–2.63). An STI was diagnosed after testing in 14.7% of e-visit users versus 2.8% of non-users (APR 3.31, 95% CI 3.25–3.38).

The findings indicate that this e-visit pathway was used by people with characteristics associated with higher STI risk. The retrospective comparison does not establish that e-visits caused increased testing or diagnoses, and the authors note that results may not apply to less integrated healthcare systems.

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Source

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Electronic Visit Use for Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing in a Large Integrated Healthcare System ↗

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