Manhunt places official badges on health profiles

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inSPOT adds FL, NYC, MN, Seattle and Toronto

We've been busy at ISIS that last few months replicating inSPOTs, our peer to peer online partner notification system for STIs and HIV.

New to the list are Florida, New York City, Minnesota, Seattle and Toronto.

For those of you unfamiliar with inSPOT, the service has two main features.
1. If you test positive for an STI or HIV, you can send an e-card, anonymous or not, to your partner(s) who you may have exposed.
2. The e-card recipient is linked directly to a map of local clinics and detailed information about the infectious agent that they may have been exposed to.

What does it take to make an inSPOT you ask?

• We verify every clinic's hours of operation, location, services, fees, populations served, insurance details and tests offered by phone to make sure that it is up to date and reliable for e-card recipients (or anyone who uses inSPOT to locate a clinic).
• We create a custom map searchable by zip code/postal code, county/province and by region.
• We compile an area specific resource list for each new area.
• Other tech-y details of course
  

Will the list keep growing?

• There are 5 more in the pipes. Your area may be next.

It is important to understand that the e-cards can be used by anyone in any jurisdiction. For the recipient not located in a city/state there are alternative ways to find clinics in your area.

In CA, the California Family Health Council (CFHC) list title X clinics searchable by zip code. Title X is the only federal program devoted to provision of family planning and reproduction health care. Title X clinics provide patient education and counseling; breast and pelvic exams; STD, HIV and cervical cancer screenings; and pregnancy counseling and diagnosis.

For STI testing outside of CA, if title X status doesn't matter to you, or if you rather talk to a person call the CDC hotline:

(800) 342-2437 or (800) 227-8922 for English,

(800) 344-7432 for Spanish or

(800) 243-7889 for TTY service.

The wait isn't that long and I got three reliable clinic referrals when I called.

For HIV testing:
HIVTest.org is the CDCs HIV testing clinic finder. Searchable by city, county, state, zip code, and type of testing offered (oral, anonymous, confidential, free). Very comprehensive.

Online Clinic Listings - STD, HIV, contraception, etc.

If you need an HIV test, STD screening or contraception and family planning services where can you go? Many of us are familiar with what's in our own neighborhoods and where we can go, but in rural areas it's not always that easy. It can be even more challenging if you are seeking confidential services.

Here are some resources we know of. If you have a search tool you use let us know so we can add to this list for clinic sleuths nationwide.

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The California Family Health Council (CFHC) list title X clinics searchable by zip code. Title X is the only federal program devoted to provision of family planning and reproduction health care. Title X clinics provide patient education and counseling; breast and pelvic exams; STD, HIV and cervical cancer screenings; and pregnancy counseling and diagnosis.

HIVTest.org is the CDCs HIV testing clinic finder. Searchable by city, county, state, zip code, and type of testing offered (oral, anonymous, confidential, free).

InSPOT.org, the peer-to-peer STD and HIV notification system has clinic search functionality. Each city or state has a map with clickable regions. Shown above is Minnesota, the latest to launch. InSPOT clinics are searchable three ways.

What can we do with Wiffiti?

If you're reading this, I hope you didn't miss the Wiffiti on the right side of this page. Too many people today have asked that the hell it is. I'm starting to wonder myself. Regardless it's fun, and could have some powerful uses in public health/health communications if executed correctly (I think).

So what is it? It's a screen that you can put anywhere that people can send text messages too and have them be visible to anyone who is watching the screen. Right now it's embedded in my blog, and if you click on the mini version in the left sidebar you'll be taken to a larger screen on the Wiffiti sight. If I wanted I could feed it to a gigantic screen at an event, or display it on a laptop at a coffee shop. Get it? The Wiffiti blog explains it better than I do.

How do you use it? Send a text message to 25622. In the body of the message type @isisinc. After @isisinc add your message. If I wanted to say "what's up?" the body of my text message would read: @isisinc what's up?

So what can you do with it? Lots of things I suppose, but are there uses in public health, particularly STD and HIV prevention? Sexual health? Here are some of my ideas. Please add yours.

1. Text the location of services at large spring break events, such as where condoms can be found, or clinical services like STD testing.
2. Use in a classroom setting as a silent brainstorming tool.
3. Embed in a website and use as an easy way to get feedback from people about your projects, artwork, web design, etc.
4. Use as a billboard in an urban area with designated people updating it with prevention messages. Perhaps using a health department sponsor.

Are these boring? What do you think? Post your thoughts here or on my Wiffiti. Click the pink arrow to activate.

Ask Dr. K if you really want to know

A great resource that I have yet to write about is the Ask Dr. K column on the San Francisco City Clinic website. Dr. K (Dr. Jeff Klausner) is the Director of STD prevention and control services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. His staff, including us at ISIS, help with writing, editing and column accuracy. Here are links to a few good ones:

Oral sex, anal sex and HIV

All about PEP

Yellow stain on underwear = STD?

Size matters for anal sex?

First time annual exam

Kissing and cunnilingus

Ebarrassed about HPV

Even if your question doesn't make it to the website, most are personally answered by City Clinic staff. Have a burning question? Give it a try.

I'd call it "Where is Sick?"

Who is sick? is a website that allows anonymous posters to link their symptoms with a geographical location on a googlemap. When you go to the site you can see all* the runny noses in LA and coughs in Berkeley. The tool was designed to help provide people with current local sickness information.

The creators say:

"Who Is Sick was started in 2006 with a mission to provide current and local sickness information to the public - without the hassle of dealing with hospitals or doctors. With a strong belief in the power of people and a faith that user generated content can be extremely valuable, our team set out to create an entirely new system for tracking and monitoring sickness information."

"Given the relatively slower adoption of internet and "web 2.0' technology by much of the healthcare industry, our team of healthcare professionals, technology entrepreneurs, mothers, fathers, and caregivers set out to create a simple, user-friendly, and valuable website for the average consumer. We are currently building out our team and expanding our technology breadth across new and exciting areas of healthcare with Who Is Sick as our first offering. Stay tuned for more!"

The tool could be used to communicate STD hotspots in the future. *However, posters to the site are most definitely a biased sample of the ill.

The mapping tool is will be easy to use for anyone familiar with googlemaps, and the little pies...well, they look like Trivial Pursuit pies.

As for the slow adoption of Web2.0 to the healthcare field. They nailed it.

Update: BioSense, a CDC project makes much more sense, particularly because you have to apply to participate.

Wrap it up NYC - sweet sweet city condoms

Normally I wouldn't blog this because it's not exactly technology related (although at one moment in time condoms were new), except the website is super rad and the general idea even radder. I couldn't resist.

The simple animations of New Yorkers humping in high rises, and gabbing on the bridge are awesome, and the list of spots where you can pick up free condoms is a goldmine (for those online at least).

What city will hop on next?

Update: Nordstorm did the website design and branding.