Where to Get Treated for STDs

Your Regular Medical Practitioner

If you have a regular medical practitioner, they should be your first choice for STD care. This is because your practitioner knows your health history. That makes them the best person to choose the right treatment options for you. You probably don't even need to see your gynecologist or urologist. Most regular medical practitioners should be able to test and treat you for the majority of common sexually transmitted diseases. If you have doubts, call the office and ask before scheduling your appointment. If nothing else, they can refer you to an appropriate location for testing.

A Medical Specialist

You can certainly see your regular medical practitioner for STD-related health concerns. However, some people are more comfortable going to an appropriate specialist. Women, for example, may be more comfortable seeing a gynecologist, nurse midwife, or other women's health practitioner for STD testing and treatment. Men who are wondering where to get treated for STDs might choose to go to a urologist. 

Local Health Departments

Your local health department can be a great resource for STD testing and treatment. Many counties run a free or sliding scale STD clinic for local residents. In addition, they often offer confidential or anonymous STD treatment and testing. The best method of finding your local STD clinic is doing a search for the name of your county and "health department" in your favorite search engine.

Planned Parenthood

Many people just think of Planned Parenthood as a place to get contraception. However, Planned Parenthood is an excellent resource for sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment. They see both male and female patients, and prices are scaled to what you can afford. In addition, since they do a lot of STD testing, they tend to have access to urine tests and other tests that are less invasive. That can make them a great place to access care. 

Public Hospitals

Many public hospitals run sexually transmitted disease clinics. When possible, you probably want to avoid going to the emergency room. Doing so can be both expensive and time-consuming. Instead, call your local hospital to see if they run a specialized STD clinic that you can attend. Seeing a doctor at the clinic is likely to be both cheaper and faster than going to the ED. 

Urgent Care Clinics

Urgent care clinics are a good alternative to the emergency room. They specialize in seeing patients whose symptoms require care faster than they could get a regular appointment with a doctor. If you have health insurance, you can call the insurance company to see if there is a covered urgent care clinic in your area.

Urgent care visits are normally substantially cheaper than going to the ER. They also often take less time. However, not all urgent care clinics will have the ability to do STD testing for all patients. For example, CVS MinuteClinics will only do STD evaluations for people who are 18 years old and over (19 and over in Nebraska). Therefore, you might want to make certain that you can get the care you need before you go.