Getting tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has never been easier thanks to Healthvana, a service that makes tests results accessible on a computer or iPhone shortly after the tests have been carried out. As soon as the results are in at the lab or medical centre, the patient can check their results online, via login on a secure online gateway or via the official iphone app. This organisation will also link those who receive positive results to a local health care provider for treatment. Healthvana certainly looks set to break new ground and change the state of sexual health substantially across the East Coast of the States. No doubt it will conquer the rest of the States and Europe shortly too, but not everyone agrees that this is a truly positive step.
The results patients receive will coincide with particular dates and the information shared with partners easily, if this is a requirement. Healthvana has been on the go since 2010 and already has racked up 100,000 users, so lots of people are seeing the benefits. What is there to complain about?
This service and others like it, prevent the long, nervous wait, post swab, urine test, or blood test. It means that you are guaranteed to get results whether they are positive or negative. Sometimes, public health clinics don’t get in touch with patients who have received negative results as they have too many positives to deal with, too many medications to administer. This service will help clinics and labs communicate better with their patients and help to avoid system failures. Furthermore, so many individuals are afraid of negative results that, of their own accord, they will avoid news altogether. Using this innovative service means, no long wait, and results at a simple click. The best thing about it is, it’s totally free.
Not everyone is singing the portal’s praises. Some health professionals think that although it’s a good idea to have results available via login, it is also potentially detrimental to send out positive results in this way, without the reassurance a doctor or nurse might offer in conjunction with such a result. I think that considering these positive results are made available in conjunction with a direct link to a service that provides treatment and even retests in certain cases, it is a very positive advancement and a huge step forward. Patients don’t have to feel they must be given difficult results and left to their own devices. Neither do they have to be available to receive treatment in person. In fact, there are already facilities in existence where providing a urine sample or a swab by post means that you don’t have to step foot inside a clinic at all from the testing stage, to receiving results, all the way through to treatment and retesting phases. Looking after your sexual health will not get any easier than this.
Such private health services like this that already exist in the UK and Ireland, have actually been on the go for a number of years now and have slowly but steadily become quite a popular avenue for those with worries or concerns about their sexual health. The success of Healthvana will certainly draw more attention to private companies operating here in this way already in the UK and this can only be a good thing. These are services that are easy to use, well priced, private, and above all, convenient. STIs no longer need to be taboo. We now have phone apps to prove how necessary testing is, how common and everyday it is to require such services! Healthvana and other such set ups are the way forward.
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