Chlamydia testing in general practice - a survey of Victorian general practitioners

Abstract

To assess the current chlamydia testing practices of Victorian general practitioners (GPs). GPs were randomly selected from the Australasian Medical Publishing Company's national database of medical practitioners and mailed a letter of invitation asking them to complete a postal survey. Up to three postal reminders were sent to non-responders. Of 421 eligible GPs, 252 (60%) returned a completed survey; 22.9% (95% CI: 17.8%, 28.6%) reported testing at least some asymptomatic patients for chlamydia each week and 26.8% (95% CI: 21.4%, 32.7%) reported that they presumptively treated patients for chlamydia without testing them at least half the time. The majority knew the appropriate specimens for diagnosing chlamydia, but 6-8% thought blood and 6% indicated that the Pap smear could be used to reliably diagnose chlamydia infection. These findings have implications for the future chlamydia screening pilot program in Australia and indicate that a comprehensive education program will be necessary to inform GPs and equip them with the skills to appropriately test for chlamydia in their practice.