Confidential Online STD Testing Clinic, GetSTDTested.com, Strengthens Partnership With ASHA in the Fight Against STDs
CHICAGO and RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- getSTDTested.com, the industry's first online confidential clinic focused exclusively on the awareness, testing and conversation of sexually transmitted diseases, announced that the nation's oldest sexually transmitted infection (STI) education and advocacy organization is now providing services that include counseling for positive test results.
Since 1914, the American Social Health Association (ASHA) has been the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to stopping STIs and their harmful consequences.
Callers with positive STD test results who dial getSTDtested.com's toll-free counseling number are now connected directly to ASHA's STI Resource Center. Calls to the counseling line are answered by ASHA health communication specialists who tailor sexual health information resources to the needs of each individual. Resource Center staff are reporting that callers most often need help in identifying resources and sorting out "next steps" in proactively dealing with both the health and relationship aspects of an STI diagnosis.
Additionally, ASHA provides support for getSTDtested.com's customer service center. Callers to this service have been especially keen to learn about different types of STD tests and what to expect from the testing experience.
"We are pleased to partner with an organization that has given consumers interested in their sexual health several innovative ways to get educated and to normalize the topic. These consumers now benefit from the experience of ASHA's specialists who field more than 180,000 calls a year," says ASHA CEO and president, Lynn Barclay.
"Earlier this year we earned ASHA's first seal of approval for our website. We are now excited to strengthen our partnership and to offer unmatched support services to our customers seeking the best experience possible when addressing this important aspect of their health," says getSTDtested.com CEO and president, Tracey Powell, the founder and former executive of the Home Access Health Corporation, the manufacturer of the only FDA approved at-home HIV diagnostic test.
"There is a huge need for education that helps destigmatize STIs and to encourage these conversations. With superior call center support, our website forum and a short webisode called "The 'O' Mission," we are speaking directly to a tech savvy generation that is the most vulnerable to STDs," says Powell.
ABOUT Get STD Tested
As more consumers turn to the internet for health information, getSTDtested.com is setting the gold standard for online STD awareness and testing, helping to destigmatize, prevent, and control sexually transmitted diseases. The online confidential clinic makes it easy for individuals at risk for STDs to get confidential diagnostic testing as well as professional and peer-to-peer referrals. Visit www.getSTDtested.com or its sponsored webisode: www.omissionthemovie.com .
ABOUT ASHA
The American Social Health Association is a trusted, non-profit organization that has advocated on behalf of patients since 1914. We are dedicated to improving the health of individuals, families, and communities, with a focus on preventing sexually transmitted diseases and their consequences.
Contact:
Kellee M. Johnson, M.A.
Principal, The Ballast Group, LLC
kjohnson@ballastgroup.com
www.ballastgroup.com
312-751-3959
