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Cold and flu season Temporada de influenza y resfriados

ALERT: Stay healthy this cold and flu season! Learn more

ALERTA: ¡Mantente sano durante esta temporada de influenza y resfriados! Más información

New Website! ¡Nuevo sitio web!

ALERT: We have made the Texas Children’s Health Plan website even easier to use! Click here to learn more.

ALERTA: ¡Ahora el sitio web de Texas Children’s Health Plan es aún más sencillo de usar! Haz clic aquí para más información.

Enfamil shortage updates Escasez de Enfamil Reguline

ALERT: Shortage of Enfamil products until October 31, 2024. Learn more.

ALERTA: Escasez de productos de Enfamil hasta el 31 de octubre de 2024. Más información.

Change Healthcare Incident Change Healthcare incidente

CDC data release shows STD diagnoses at record high in U.S.

CDC data release shows STD diagnoses at record high in U.S. The CDC has released preliminary surveillance data presented at the 2018 STD Prevention Conference in Washington, D.C. Data analysis of the five year trend of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) showed a sharp increase in STDs for four consecutive years (see chart). In 2017, almost 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported to the CDC, an increase of more than 200,000 cases from 2016 (see graph). Young women continue to bear the greatest burden of chlamydia, having nearly half of all diagnosed infections. In light of this alarming data, Texas Children’s Health Plan reminds providers that the CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active adolescents and women under 25, as well as older women with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection. Some physicians choose to screen all adolescents and women under 25 because reporting of sexual history is not always complete. Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs) are the most sensitive tests, and can be performed on easily obtainable specimens such as urine or vaginal swabs (either clinician- or patient-collected).  Examples of NAATs include APTIMA® COMBO2 Assay (GEN-PROBE), CT APTIMA®, CT TMA. Texas Children’s Health Plan exclusively uses Quest for laboratory testing. The CPT code for the NAAT testing is 87491. Other CPT Codes for chlamydia testing/screening include: 87110 and 87270. Retesting is recommended approximately 3 months after treatment of diagnosed infections.