Sexually transmitted infections in Dallas County cost nearly $400 million in a single year, between direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity.<\/p>\n
The estimate comes from a report authored by experts at Dallas County Health and Human Services, the county\u2019s public health department. Released on Friday, the report was published in the July edition of the Dallas County Medical Society\u2019s journal.<\/p>\n
The estimated yearly cost included direct medical costs \u2014 diagnosis, treatment, hospitalization, long-term care and more \u2014 plus indirect costs related to disability, unpaid caregiving, and early death.<\/p>\n
Of the total, direct medical costs accounted for about $233 million, or about 58.5%, according to the public health department. Indirect costs accounted for about $165 million, or about 41.5%.<\/p>\n
Business Briefing<\/p>\n
Of the sexually transmitted infections included in the report, HIV alone accounted for more than 95% of the cost, or a total of about $382 million, according to the report. That dwarfed the combined $16 million cost of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and congenital syphilis.<\/p>\n
In the report, economist Ali Dadpay and Dr. Phil Huang wrote that the massive yearly cost is a reason to focus on STI prevention and early detection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese numbers are a wake-up call,\u201d Huang, the county\u2019s public health director, wrote in a statement. \u201cPrevention and early treatment aren\u2019t just good medicine \u2014 they\u2019re smart economics.”<\/p>\n
Dr. John Carlo is the CEO of Prism Health North Texas, a clinic that was founded to treat patients affected by the HIV\/AIDS crisis.<\/p>\n
Carlo, who was not involved in the county report, pointed to estimates that HIV leads to lifetime medical costs of about $500,000, with potential for the total to reach or surpass $1 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn HIV test can be as low as $7,\u201d he said. \u201cA $7 test could actually prevent subsequent infections and transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the economic argument, prevention and early detection of HIV in particular are also key to providing patients with a high quality of life.<\/p>\n
When people are diagnosed with HIV earlier on, they can start treatment earlier, too. Antiretroviral therapy can help patients live longer and reduce the risk of spreading HIV to others.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of the consequences of HIV infection … are very, very hard to reverse once your later stage is there,\u201d Carlo said. \u201cThe long-term morbidity and mortality for somebody is highly determined by how late in their illness course they were diagnosed.\u201d<\/p>\n
People who are at high risk of contracting HIV can also take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which is highly effective at preventing HIV spread from sex. There are pill and injectable forms of PrEP, including a twice-yearly injection that received federal approval earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Public health experts have worried about rising STI rates in recent years, particularly because many people struggled to access medical care during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Dallas County has reported rising rates of HIV and congenital syphilis in particular, according to the report.<\/p>\n
The cost of sexually transmitted infections in Dallas County is a significant burden on the healthcare system and the economy. Prevention and early detection are key to reducing the cost and providing patients with a high quality of life. By focusing on STI prevention and early detection, we can reduce the number of new infections and improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities.<\/p>\n
A: The total cost of sexually transmitted infections in Dallas County is nearly $400 million in a single year, including direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity.<\/p>\n
A: According to the report, HIV is the most common STI in Dallas County, accounting for more than 95% of the total cost.<\/p>\n
A: You can prevent HIV transmission by using protection during sex, getting tested regularly, and taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) if you are at high risk of contracting HIV.<\/p>\n
A: The cost of an HIV test can be as low as $7, according to Dr. John Carlo, CEO of Prism Health North Texas.<\/p>\n
A: Early detection of HIV is important because it allows individuals to start treatment earlier, which can help them live longer and reduce the risk of spreading HIV to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sexually Transmitted Infections in Dallas County Sexually transmitted infections in Dallas County cost nearly $400 million in a single year, between direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity. The estimate comes from a report authored by experts at Dallas County Health and Human Services, the county\u2019s public health department. Released on Friday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":10434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/I4SKKPRUNFDV3OMKKDN7H37F34.jpg?auth=6b9be2c809cf795bec8c0c8d9154a989cf842819c4d4f3b6b67b549d75a7e908&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10432"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10435,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10432\/revisions\/10435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}