8 Alberta pharmacies to offer STI testing as part of U of A research study

Pharmacist Dylan Moulton conducts an STI test in Edmonton on February 21, 2023. (Darcy Seaton/CTV News Edmonton)

The University of Alberta is working with local pharmacists to make sexual health testing more accessible.

"APPROACH 2.0" will provide Albertans free and confidential testing for sexually transmitted infections like HIV, Hepatitis C and syphilis.

It's done with a simple blood test, performed at community pharmacies.

The goal is to make testing easier for people who may not know they have an infection or feel comfortable seeking a test in a traditional setting.

“We certainly know through COVID-19, there was reduced access to testing for sexual transmitted and blood-borne infections. So this is just an opportunity to again reach groups that might be at risk and hopefully improve both individual health but also reduce spread in the community,” said Christine Hughes from the university.

"Pharmacists are absolutely removing barriers to health-care access, especially for equity-seeking groups who don’t always feel comfortable accessing traditional health-care spaces that don’t feel safe to them," said Dylan Moulton, a clinical pharmacist and pharmacy manager at Medi-Drugs Millcreek.

Patients will also be educated on how STIs are transmitted.

Seventeen pharmacists in eight pharmacies across the province will participate.