Importance of physicians in Chlamydia trachomatis control.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Chlamydia (CT) rates increased nationally by 17.3% from 2002-2006.
• Screening rates for eligible females were only 43.6% in 2006.
• Annual costs associated with CT exceed $1.88 billion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the significance of private medical doctors (PMDs) and hospitals as Chlamydia screening venues in Illinois.
• To assess if the importance of these venues varies by county Rural-Urban Continuum Code (RUCC).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of Chlamydia cases reported in Illinois (2002-2006).
• Counties stratified by RUCC; 18 provider types condensed into nine venues.
• Venue positivity rates derived from laboratory data.

Main Results:

• PMDs and hospitals reported 33.1% and 25.4% of 247,725 CT cases, respectively.
• Positivity rates in PMDs (6.2%) and hospitals (6.1%) were comparable to family planning clinics (5.7%).
• Distribution of cases by venue and RUCC was highly significant (p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• PMDs identify the majority of Chlamydia cases in Illinois and are consistently important screening venues across all urbanization levels.
• Augmenting screening at existing PMD and hospital venues may be more efficient and cost-effective.
• This approach could improve screening rates, particularly in rural or low-prevalence areas.