Urinary tract infections are one of the most common reasons people visit a doctor's office, and women are far more likely than men to experience one.
Experts estimate that 50% to 60% of women will develop at least one urinary tract infection during their lifetime. While men can also get UTIs, women are about 30 times more likely to develop the infection.
For many patients, the symptoms are familiar and frustrating.
"Urinary tract infections are annoying because they really come on quickly," said Dr. Austin Hill, a urogynecologist with Intermountain Health. "Then they sometimes are frustrating to take care of because you have to go to the office and you have to sit there for whoever to see, and then you have to wait for your prescription to come through and you have to wait for the culture to come back. There's a lot of steps that go into treating them."
Many patients who have had a UTI before recognize the symptoms almost immediately and wonder why they have to repeat the same process each time.
"I hear all the time from people, 'Oh my gosh, I know exactly what this is. Just get me treated,'" Hill said.
"They've had it before, and they're like, 'I know what this is. I need to go get taken care of so I can get on with my day.'"
To help streamline treatment, Intermountain Health now offers online UTI treatment through its On Demand service, allowing eligible patients to work directly with a pharmacist without scheduling an office visit.
Patients begin by completing an online questionnaire.
"Once they start the questionnaire, within a couple of hours they should hear back from the pharmacist," Hill said. "Then the pharmacist would send the medication the same day."
Patients can pick up their prescription at their local pharmacy or choose to have it delivered to their home, typically within 48 hours.
"What we want patients to be able to do is ask for help. I need some help. And it's an easy way to start that process," Hill said.
The On Demand service is available to everyone, regardless of insurance coverage or health plan. The online visit costs $39.
For more information, click here.
