Cost Savings and Increased Efficiency Using a Stratified Specimen Pooling Strategy for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae

In Brief Idaho Chlamydia trachomatis-Neisseria gonorrhoeae specimens from July 2009 were pooled by stratified specimen pooling, an approach that removes high-risk specimens from the pooling population and pools low-risk specimens to maximize pooling efficiency. This approach reduced pool positivity rates by 8%, repeated tests by 9%, and saved 47.4% in direct costs. A study comparing Chlamydia trachomatis-Neisseria gonorrhoeae pooling strategies in Idaho found that pooling specimens by Reason for Visit reduced pool positivity rate, decreased number of repeated tests, and increased cost savings.