Background:
Greater availability for testing clients in an STD clinic is needed.

Objective:
To create and assess a streamline, Disease Intervention Specialist-run, screening clinic for patients not reporting STD symptoms.

Method:
Patients calling the Bell Flower Clinic (Indianapolis, IN) to request STD testing, between 11/7/05 – 12/1/05, were asked a series of questions to determine which clinic to be scheduled (i.e., “Phone Triaged”). Individuals who did not report STD symptoms were scheduled into a Screening Clinic being run for a trial period by Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS), on three half days per week. This Screening Clinic offered Gonorrhea and Chlamydia testing (urine) and Syphilis and HIV testing (blood), without offering a traditional, STD clinical examination. Individuals tested for HIV were offered a rapid HIV test.

Result:
Enrolled index patients (n=66). Of those enrolled, 48% reported their race as White, 50% reported their race as African-American, and 2% reported their race as Asian. Of those enrolled, 27% were reactive for an STD. Sixty-six patients (100%) were tested for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, sixty-one (92%) were tested for Syphilis, and fourteen (21%) were tested for HIV. Of those tested for Chlamydia, 21% were reactive. Among White clients tested for Chlamydia, 34% were reactive.

Conclusion:
A DIS-run screening clinic is an efficient method to increase the number of available STD clinic slots and detect STD morbidity among asymptomatic patients,

Implications:
A streamline, DIS-run, screening clinic can be a useful public health intervention to identify STDs among asymptomatic patients.