Uber For STD Testing? Planned Parenthood App Offers Home Test Kit, 'Discreet' Results
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — If you're wondering whether you have a sexually transmitted disease, there's an app for that.
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA) launched a new mobile app Monday that allows users to order what the group described as "confidential" chlamydia and gonorrhea testing through their phone and, if they test positive, receive treatment through the app or at a local Planned Parenthood health center.
Once ordered, the Planned Parenthood Direct test kit will arrive in "discreet packaging" and will allow users to send a urine sample to a Planned Parenthood lab and receive the results privately through the app, according to spokeswoman Amy Rosenfeld.
In 2013, there were over 48,000 cases of chlamydia reported to Los Angeles County health officials - a jump of nearly 10 percent countywide since 2009, according to officials.
While there's no cost to download the app - which is available to California residents through either the Android or Apple app store - ordering the home STD test kit will cost users $149, which can be paid through the app using a credit or debit card.
"Online services are the future of health care – and while little has been done in this area with regards to sexual and reproductive health care, PPLA is determined to fill that gap and lead the way with innovative health care solutions," said PPLA President and CEO Sue Dunlap.
Officials say since both chlamydia and gonorrhea often don't show any symptoms, the only way to know for sure is to get tested.