• John Patrick B Janowski, William S Garrett, Daniel J Feller, Rebecca Hathaway, John Kushner, Matthew Pelish, and Bruce D Agins.
• From the *Office of the Medical Director, New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) AIDS Institute, New York, NY; †Office of Health Emergency Preparedness, NYSDOH, Menands, NY; and ‡NYSDOH, Bureau of Healthcom Network Systems Management, Menands, NY.
• Sex Transm Dis. 2014 Sep 1; 41 (9): 519-24.

BackgroundRising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) warrant a renewed focus on the management of STIs in health care organizations. The extent to which hospitals and community health centers (CHCs) have established processes and allocated staff for the management of STIs within their organizations remains poorly understood.MethodsA New York State Department of Health survey was distributed electronically through a closed state communication network to targeted administrators at New York State hospitals and CHCs. The survey asked if STI management in their facilities included the following: the ability to measure and report rates of STIs, a process to assess the quality of STI care and treatment outcomes, and a centralized person/unit to coordinate its work throughout the facility. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify whether organizational characteristics were associated with survey findings.ResultsNinety-five percent (243/256) of hospitals and CHCs responded to the survey. Fifty percent of respondents had a person or unit to report rates of STIs; 30% reported an organization-wide process for monitoring the quality of STI care, which, according to the multivariate analysis, was associated with CHCs; only 23% reported having a centralized person or unit for coordinating STI management.ConclusionsMost facilities report STI cases to comply with public health surveillance requirements but do not measure infection rates, assess the quality of STI care, or coordinate its work throughout the facility. The development of this organizational capacity would likely decrease STI rates, improve treatment outcomes, and address local public health goals.

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