With the STD Triage, launched last month in San Francisco, you can get your potential STDs checked out simply using your phone. The app allows you to take a photo of any below-the-belt worries you might have, and then anonymously submit it to a team of licensed dermatologists. These wellness experts will take an educated guess of what the problem might be, and email you back within 24 hours with a suggestion of whether or not you need to book a doctor’s appointment.
According to Alexander Börve, who created the app at UC Berkeley, ‘We’re basically a step between a Google search and a trip to the doctor.’ However, Börve is quick to note that the app is in no way a diagnosis service or a substitute for a doctor’s visit, even though all the STD Triage doctors are licensed dermatologists. ‘A patient-doctor relationship is essential for diagnosis, but we can at least point someone in the right direction,’ he explained.
Börve, is an orthopedic surgeon working toward a thesis in digital health at Berkeley, and is also the founder of Swedish app iDoc24 (a similar service that addresses dermatological issues). He reported that roughly 70% of the cases submitted to iDoc24 result in a recommendation for an over-the-counter treatment, ‘but we’re really concerned with making sure that 30% takes steps to get to a doctor right away,’ he added.
You have the right to download the anonymous app and submit a photo free-of-charge, but if you want the privilege of actually reading the results, which, after all, is the reason you downloaded the app in the first place, you’ll have to pay a fee of $9.99. The same goes for STD Triage’s anonymous website (for those of you who don’t have a smartphone). So if you want the luxury of knowing whether something is worth bothering your doctor about, it seems as though you need to be willing to turn your head and cough up.