STD Testing Blog

Just think of all the things the Internet allows you to do – things that were once handled in person or on paper.

I’m talking about greeting cards, thank-you notes and party invitations. And let’s not forget the ease with which relationships can be ended – via e-mail or text messages. (One of my single co-workers tells me this is an acceptable way to end a relationship, as long as it has lasted no more than one month.)

Well, we also have a way for people to let their sex partners know – anonymously – that they may have a sexually-transmitted disease. This story at CNN looks at the service, offered by inSpot.org, a San Francisco-based company that’s been around for a few years.

Basically, once someone is diagnosed with an STD, they can use the site to inform recent partners that they are at risk.

The electronic cards deliver the news in a variety of styles. Some are flirty: “You’re too hot to be out of action. I got diagnosed with an STD since we played. You might want to get checked too.”

Some are somber: “Who? What? When? Where? It doesn’t matter. I got an STD; you might have it too. Please get checked out.”

The idea of using such an impersonal method to deliver bad news might seem insensitive or cowardly. But some health officials say it’s better than one of the likely alternatives – doing nothing.

“When you weigh the importance of getting people notified, that’s ultimately what needs to be done,” said Jeffrey D. Klausner, director of STD Prevention and Control Services in San Francisco, California’s Department of Public Health. “By notifying them — even if it’s done anonymously, even distantly, even with an e-card — the benefits of getting someone diagnosed and treated outweigh the concerns of insensitivity.”

So far, the site is operating in nine U.S. cities (the closest is Chicago) and ten states ( Missouri and Illinois are not among them.)