An innovative self-screening service to test for sexually transmitted infections has just opened at a downtown Montreal's Quorum Medical Clinic.
The concept, called Prélib, combines communication technologies with medical expertise and is the first of its kind in Canada.
The patient registers for an appointment online by filling out detailed health questionnaires and then is sent a personal code so they can gain entry to the private clinic.
Once inside, they only see a nurse briefly - otherwise, they are alone and take the tests themselves, guided by a video.
The goal is to increase access to screening, said Prélib co-founder Dr. Maxim Ethier.
“Forty per cent of new diagnoses of HIV are under 30 years old, so we have a problem with the young person at the moment, and we have to find a new way to get them tested and to do prevention. And that's why telecommunication, technology, is a way that we think that people are going to have easier access to a test and information,” said Ethier, a physician with Quorum Medical Clinic.
If a person tests positive for HIV, the news is delivered by a doctor in person and treatment and support is provided.
The clinic opened on Dec. 1 and already 75 patients have registered for testing.
