Clinical Chats: a Podcast for Sexual and Reproductive Health Professionals · Clinical Training Center for Sexual and Reproductive Health

Combatting Congenital Syphilis: Point-of-Care Testing and Same Day Treatment

April 16, 2024·29 min

Clinical Chats opens with a straightforward clinical question. The topic is point-of-care testing and same-day treatment for syphilis, and when those approaches fit Title X and other sexual and reproductive health care settings. Tammy Bennett, MSN, WHNPBC, the new Associate Director of Clinical Training at CTCSRH, joins the conversation. She brings experience from her work as the Reproductive Health Statewide Nurse Consultant for the Louisiana Department of Health, where she oversaw the state's Title X program and helped institute clinic policies and procedures to address rising syphilis cases throughout the state. The discussion begins at the systems level, then moves into clinic decisions that shape screening, treatment, and follow-up. The episode spends time on how point-of-care tests can be ordered through normal suppliers, including McKesson, Henry Schein, and Fisher, and notes that manufacturers can also provide ordering and training support. Staff education is treated as part of implementation, not an afterthought. The conversation explains that non-clinical staff such as health educators, contact tracers, or medical assistants can potentially administer some of these tests. It also broadens the setting beyond the standard exam room. The episode describes using the tests at outside testing events such as health fairs and STI testing events. When a test is positive, the next step is not treated as automatic. Clinics may bring the patient back for confirmation testing and treatment, or in some circumstances move quickly to same-day testing and treatment in the community. The conversation also addresses the practical uncertainty that comes with rapid tests. False positives are part of the reality clinicians need to plan for, along with workflow questions about who can screen, who can document, and how to keep care accurate while keeping access open. The show closes with its usual informational disclaimer and credits. The overall effect is a measured clinical training conversation that treats syphilis response as both patient care and public health work.

As heard by us

A practical clinic discussion of syphilis testing, same day treatment, and the work of making it fit day to day.

The episode treats point of care syphilis testing as a clinic problem, not a policy slogan, and that is where it is most useful. It lays out when same day testing and treatment may fit in Title X and other sexual and reproductive health settings, then gets into the unglamorous…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Decide whether point-of-care syphilis testing and same-day treatment fit your Title X or sexual health setting.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify