Chlamydia Screening
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend screening all sexually active females under 25 years of age for Chlamydia and consider also screening high risk adolescent males.
Chlamydia Screening Case Examples
Case Example: Carefully Framing Chlamydia Screening Questions
Staff at an SBHC in Colorado found that carefully framing the screening question was a key step to identify students at risk for Chlamydia infections. Instead of asking “Are you sexually active?”, SBHC providers started with “Have you ever had sex in your life?” This method yielded a greater, more accurate number of at-risk students who would benefit from a sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) screening.
Other Resources
Do you have a promising strategy or resource you believe would be helpful to other SBHCs working to increase the number of SBHC clients with a well child visit? Share it with us by sending an email to info@sbh4all.org and we’ll post it here!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some promising strategies my SBHC can use to identify students who are sexually active?
- Confidentiality is key: Educate youth about what types of information and services can be kept confidential.
- Ask students the right questions. Rather than asking “Are you sexually active?”, consider asking, “Have you ever had sex?” or “Have you had sex since you were last tested for an STI?” Ask students what type of sex they had (vaginal/oral/anal) and when.
- Consider using birth control codes or STD codes in your EHR as proxies for sexual activity.
- Create a discrete field in the EHR to document whether or not a patient is sexually active. Make sure that each provider enters data into the EHR in the same way.
There are so many ways to collect these data. Which way is best?
- There are a variety of data-collecting methods for Chlamydia screenings. These include running reports with STD screen codes for ICD-10 or CPT codes for urine Chlamydia screening. Any of these codes can be used — just make sure that all providers are entering data the same way into the EHR.
Telehealth Ideas
- Complete reproductive health services virtually and in-person, thereby minimizing time in office (history, assessment, and education via telehealth and in-person for the physical exam)
- One SBHC highlighted a program with at-home STI testing kits that patients return by mail for diagnosis and follow-up care