The Prickyard

Not wanting to be part of the problem I get STD tested approximately every six months. My Doctor / Nurse Practitioner appointments need to be made a week or so in advance and his / her office is on the other side of town. Quite time consuming and my free time is very limited. As suggested on a previous posting here I decided to try the Bell Flower Clinic.

The Pros. Only 15 minute drive from my home. It is easy to make a Tuesday or Wednesday appointment by phone. Monday, Thursday & Friday are walk in days. Checked in, filled out the paperwork. Was given a number and waited to be called. The first stop was to confirm my paperwork and pay the $20 fee. Was then sent to the second waiting area. My number was called and was lead to a room and confirmed the paperwork and sample bottle labels matched. Next was off to the restroom to pee in the bottle, after that was the blood test, then the Q Tip to the back of the throat. The blood test and HIV tests are optional. Being a Stoic tough guy, I got the full test. The female technician was skilled with the needle and had a pleasant personality. The entire process took less than an hour, including walking to and from my car. I parked by the river as it is free and I don't mind walking.

Cons. You might? Have to pay for parking. The waiting area had about six people filling out paperwork or waiting for their number to be called. All 20 somethings, two cute girls and four riff raff looking guys. You are given the option of phone, mail, email communications or downloading the MYMCPHDChart app. I used the app. Results take 7 to 10 days. The app had some issue so my results took more than 10 days. I called the MYMCPHDCart Patient Portal listed on the web page, they gave me my results over the phone and sent a ticket to tech support get the app working. Apparently I was supposed to have been sent an invite before downloading the app. My bad.

Overall a positive experience. I will be using this clinic for my six month testing from this point on.

Talos.