Does online sexual health screening cost less than clinic visits?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-03-30 00:01

Australia; NSW

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An e-testing pathway for sexually transmitted and blood-borne viruses is overall more cost-effective for the economy than standard clinic visits despite higher pathology costs, according to an analysis of a Sydney sexual health clinic. The clinic offers in-person screening or MyCheck, where patients do all their consultation over the phone and just visit a pathology centre to do the test itself. The researchers compared screening costs at the clinic over a 6-month period, taking into account pathology and staff time as well as the costs of patient travel and lost productivity getting to their appointments. They say while the testing itself was more expensive, the savings on clinic staff time and patient travel and productivity meant the e-testing pathway was cheaper overall. They say lowering private pathology costs could improve the cost-effectiveness of this option further.