ArticlePloS one2019
Online testing for sexually transmitted infections: A whole systems approach to predicting value.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Co-creating the clinical pathway for Test it, a web-accessed sexually transmitted infections testing service.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Complex role of digital health literacy in awareness and use of digital sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections testing: a structural equation modelling analysis of the 2022 GetCheckedOnline survey.Sexually transmitted infections · 2026Article
- Evaluating the impact of remote care in sexual and reproductive health services on outcomes and health inequalities in the UK: a retrospective observational study of routine service-level data.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Uptake, positivity, and equity of online postal self-sampling for chlamydia testing in England: a retrospective cohort study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Engaging End Users to Inform the Design and Social Marketing Strategy for a Web-Based Sexually Transmitted Infection/Blood-Borne Virus (STI/BBV) Testing Service for Young People in Victoria, Australia: Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Predictors of Recent Incidence Trends in Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Systematic Review Protocol.HRB open research · 2025Article
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- Access to, usage and clinic outcomes of, online postal sexually transmitted infection services: a scoping review.Sexually transmitted infections · 2022Review
- Contraception in Person-Contraception Online (CiP-CO) cohort study.BMJ sexual & reproductive health · 2022Article
- Evaluating the impact and cost-effectiveness of chlamydia management strategies in Hong Kong: A modeling study.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- What can be learnt from a qualitative evaluation of implementing a rapid sexual health testing, diagnosis and treatment service?BMJ open · 2021Article
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- Modelling patient flows and resource use within a sexual health clinic through discrete event simulation to inform service redesign.BMJ open · 2020Article
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- Asynchronous Online Platforms Can Reduce Healthcare Costs for STI and HIV Testing: Evaluating GetaKit.ca in Ontario, Canada.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOnline testing for sexually transmitted infections has a lower unit cost than testing in clinical services and economic analysis has focused on the cost per test and cost per diagnosis in clinics and online. However, online services generate new demand for testing and shift activity between services, requiring system-level analysis to effectively predict cost-effectiveness. METHODS AND
findingsRoutinely collected, anonymised, retrospective data on sexual health service activity from all specialist services (clinic and online) within an inner London sexual health economy were collated and harmonised to generate a complete dataset of individual level clinic attendances. Clinic activity and diagnoses were coded using nationally standardised codes assigned by clinicians. Costs were taken from locally or regionally agreed sexual health tariffs. The introduction of online services changed patterns of testing. In an inner London sexual health economy, online STI testing increased total number of tests, the total cost of testing and total diagnoses while slightly reducing the average cost per diagnosis. Two years after the introduction of online services 37% of tests in the were provided online and total diagnoses increased. The positivity of online services is generally lower than that in clinics but varies between contexts. Where the positivity ratio between clinic and online is less than the cost ratio, online services will reduce cost per diagnosis. In this analysis, areas with different classifications as urban and rural had different clinic/online positivity ratios changing the cost effectiveness between areas. Even after the introduction of online services, simple STI testing activity continues in clinics and providers should consider online-first options where clinically appropriate.
conclusionsOnline services for STI testing are not 'stand alone'. They change STI testing behaviour with impacts on all elements of the sexual health economy. Planning, development and monitoring of such services should reference the dynamic nature of these systems and the role of online services within them.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.