LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor and Preventx partner for STI test service

LloydsPharmacy is enhancing its sexual health testing services, with a newly announced partnership with Preventx, a leading diagnostic provider.

The collaboration will boost LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor’s testing services for sexual health – which include test kits for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV, helping to improve access for customers who may have STI concerns and want a discrete test service.

Customers will be able to order their selected test kit online from LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor. Each kit includes expert guidance on how to perform the test – which can range from a finger-prick blood test to a PCR test depending on the infection being investigated. Once the test has been completed from the comfort of their own home, customers send their samples back in the post, where they are processed by Preventx in their bespoke laboratory.

Results of the test kits are made available to customers within 72 hours via their patient record.

Preventx is partnered with private and public sector organisations to improve access to testing in the UK. Based in Sheffield, it carries out remote diagnostics for the NHS and local authorities across more than half of the UK.

Ruth Poole, CEO, Preventx, said: “Our newly developed API is the cornerstone of this partnership, seamlessly integrating with LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor’s digital offering. This flexible and scalable approach means that customers can order STI tests directly through LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor’s website with results delivered efficiently and confidentially, using a process that is both user-friendly and secure.

“By combining our expertise and the intelligent use of tech to make testing more accessible, we believe our partnership will enable more people to proactively manage their sexual health and prevent onward transmission of infections.”

Towards the end of last year, LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor also entered a partnership with Thriva Solutions, which allowed LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor patients to order test kits via the Thrive Solutions’ API integration.