07/15/2025
If you have a primary care doctor who understands comprehensive STI testing, you should go through them.
You work hard for your insurance, and when it works like it should, doctor-ordered labs can give you fast, reliable results at minimal cost. That’s the ideal.
We even built a free resource page to help you get better testing through your own doctor — because what matters most is that you get the care you need, wherever you can get it.
But here’s the truth: most doctors aren’t trained to test thoroughly for STIs.
And with STI testing, “close enough” isn’t good enough.
Take oral gonorrhea.
If your doctor skips the throat swab, that’s not a small oversight — that’s one of the most common and contagious infections left undetected. You won’t know you have it. You won’t treat it. And you’ll probably spread it.
And then there’s the surprise billing.
People often assume insurance has them covered — only to be hit weeks later with a bill for hundreds of dollars. What gets paid (and what doesn’t) depends on your plan, your state, and how the lab codes the test.
So again: if your doctor understands this testing, and your insurance covers it, go that route. Absolutely.
But if your doctor isn’t sure what to order, won’t test your throat, or has never even heard of infections like mycoplasma genitalium, that’s when Shameless Care becomes the better path.
And when we say “doctors,” we mean real, licensed physicians — not just a name on a form.
Every STI test in the U.S. legally requires a doctor’s involvement.
Most companies check that box by tacking a provider’s NPI number onto your order — from someone who’s never seen your chart, doesn’t know your name, and won’t be the one reading your results.
That’s not how we do things.
When you order testing through Shameless Care, you’re assigned a board-certified doctor licensed in your state.
Live in Arkansas? You’re paired with a doctor who’s licensed to practice in Arkansas.
They personally review your age, s*x, medications, allergies, symptoms — and order the tests that make sense for you. They introduce themselves with a short video message, so you know who they are.
And when your results come back, that same doctor is already waiting on them.
Just like you are.
Because they know your name.
They know your chart.
And they genuinely care about what happens next.
If you test positive, that same doctor provides your treatment — at no additional charge.
Because that’s not just lab testing.
That’s healthcare.
It’s a real doctor–patient relationship, even if it happens entirely through your phone.
And most importantly, it’s care without shame, without shortcuts, and without being left wondering who’s actually in charge of your health.
