A positive result for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, or Syphilis is a standard part of being sexually active. The bacteria are easily treated. In Florida, how you receive that treatment depends entirely on where you got tested.

🏥 The Treatment Pathway

If you tested at an LGBTQ+ Clinic or FDOH

If you tested at a community center (like Metro Inclusive Health or Care Resource) or the Florida Department of Health (FDOH):

  • Notification: They will typically call you.
  • Treatment: You will return to that same clinic for treatment.
  • Cost: LGBTQ+ clinics usually treat on a sliding scale or for free. The FDOH also treats STIs for free or at very low cost, as it is a public health priority.

If you tested via Telehealth (MISTR / QCarePlus)

  • Notification: You will be notified via the platform's app or a phone call from their clinical team.
  • Treatment:
    • For Chlamydia, they will send a prescription for oral antibiotics to your local pharmacy.
    • For Gonorrhea or Syphilis, you require an intramuscular injection (Rocephin for gonorrhea, Penicillin for syphilis). Telehealth cannot do this. They will advise you to go to your local FDOH clinic or an Urgent Care center for the injection.

If you tested at a General GP or Urgent Care

  • Notification: Via phone or patient portal.
  • Treatment: They will either prescribe oral antibiotics or administer the injection on-site.
  • Cost: You will be billed through your insurance, or you will pay out of pocket for the visit and medication.

Take your lab results with you. If a telehealth provider tells you to go to the FDOH for a gonorrhea injection, print out or screenshot your positive lab result. Having the physical proof speeds up the triage process at the health department.

📞 Partner Notification & The State

Florida law requires all laboratories to report positive cases of Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and HIV to the Florida Department of Health. This is standard epidemiological tracking, completely confidential, and exempt from public records laws.

Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS)

For Syphilis and HIV, a public health worker from the FDOH (a Disease Intervention Specialist) may contact you.

  • Their job is to ensure you received treatment and to help stop the spread.
  • They will ask for the names and contact information of recent sexual partners.
  • Anonymity: If the DIS contacts your partners, they do so completely anonymously. They will say, "You have been exposed to syphilis," but they will never reveal your name.

Doing It Yourself (Anonymous Texting)

If you prefer to handle it yourself but cannot face the conversation, you must still warn your partners so they can get treated.

  • Use TellYourPartner (tellyourpartner.org) to send a secure, anonymous text advising them to get tested.

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