Emergency Prevention: The Benefit of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Screening in Urban Emergency Departments

Abstract

While emergency departments excel in the acute triage and management of a plethora of urgent complaints, they seldom have been highlighted for their expansive and growing attention to the chronic needs of underserved populations. Yet across the United States, urban emergency departments are embracing the role of prevention, specifically as it applies to the sexual health of young adults. The availability of a non-invasive, cost-effective screening tool has enabled emergency departments to quickly screen and treat chlamydia and gonorrhea infections in high-risk populations in whom these infections might not otherwise be detected.