By Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President, Urgent Care Consultants
Why point-of-care STI testing belongs in urgent care
Patients don’t come to urgent care to wait. Modern point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for chlamydia and gonorrhea—some with trichomonas or Mycoplasma genitalium options—deliver lab-quality results before discharge. That enables evidence-based treatment and partner management immediately, shrinking time-to-therapy, trimming infectious days, and supporting antimicrobial stewardship by avoiding “just-in-case” antibiotics. Emergency-department implementations show rapid CT/NG testing reduces both overtreatment and undertreatment, and modeling demonstrates infectious days averted compared with routine send-outs.
Patient & public-health impact
STIs remain common: CDC’s 2023 surveillance counted 2.4 million reported cases, with the highest burden among ages 15–24—precisely the population that prizes convenience and already uses urgent care. Offering accurate results in one visit is good medicine and good public health, enabling faster treatment and more immediate partner services.
Business case for providers & clinics
For operators, same-visit testing is a throughput and margin play. When results are available during the encounter, clinics avoid call-backs and unnecessary return visits, reduce empiric prescriptions, and close follow-up gaps that otherwise create rework and frustration. Turnaround aligns with the triage-to-discharge rhythm of urgent care (roughly 20–30 minutes), keeping rooms turning and patient satisfaction high.
CLIA-waived POC options (U.S.)
There are currently only three CLIA-waived tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia that are available for urgent care, two of which are FDA approved for male urine.
| Platform | Panel | Specimens (waived) | Instrument |
| Roche cobas liat
|
CT/NG; CT/NG/MG | Male urine; vaginal swab (clinician- or self-collected in clinic) | Analyzer |
| binx io
|
CT/NG | Male urine; female vaginal swab | Analyzer |
| Visby Sexual Health | CT/NG/TV
(women only) |
Female self-collected vaginal swab | Single-use device |
Specs summarized from manufacturer pages (time-to-result and waived specimen types).
In an era where on-demand service is the expectation, the integration of rapid, CLIA-waived STI testing is a logical and necessary evolution for urgent care. These platforms create a powerful synergy, aligning the clinical need for accurate diagnostics with the urgent care model's core value proposition of speed and convenience. For clinics, adopting a "test-and-treat" workflow is more than an upgrade in technology; it's a fundamental improvement to the patient experience, a significant contribution to public health, and a smart business decision that enhances both efficiency and the bottom line. It's a clear win for patients, providers, and the community alike.
AI to Tailor This to Your Center
Use the quick checklist below and the prompt to generate a clinic-specific analysis with your AI assistant (e.g., ChatGPT). Paste your inputs and you’ll get a one-page ROI summary, platform comparison, and recommendations customized to your operation.
Copy & paste prompt:Act as an urgent care operations analyst. Using my inputs (number of clinics, daily visits, % tested for CT/NG, positivity rate, empiric-treatment rate for send-outs, send-out TAT in days, callback workflow & minutes, staff hourly cost, payer-allowed amounts, and panel choice: CT/NG vs CT/NG/TV vs CT/NG/MG), estimate the operational and financial impact of adding CLIA-waived point-of-care NAATs.
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FAQs about POC STI testing in urgent care
Is it STI or STD? What’s the difference?
A Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) is the invasion of a pathogen that can be asymptomatic, while a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) is the condition that occurs when that infection causes symptoms or health problems.
Are these tests accurate?
Yes. Peer-reviewed evaluations of POC molecular assays report high agreement with lab NAATs, supporting “test-and-treat in one visit” strategies.
Do waived POC tests cover extragenital sites (pharyngeal/rectal)?
Not currently. The CLIA-waived claims for these platforms are for urogenital specimens (male urine and/or vaginal swabs) per each product’s labeling.
How fast are results, and can we treat in the same visit?
Roche publishes ~20 minutes; binx and Visby list ~30 minutes. That timing supports same-visit counseling, therapy, and partner services.
What about reimbursement and workflows?
Allowables vary by payer and panel; success hinges on matching panel strategy to clinical need, training staff on self-collection and result communication, and minimizing phone-back work with “result-in-visit” workflows (use the prompt above to size your ROI).