Short answer
Usually not. Regular physicals omit STI testing by default across visit types (annual physicals, Pap visits, even urologic exams), and the omission surprises most patients.
The fix is one explicit sentence per visit (“please include STI screening with today’s labs”) or standing orders automating inclusion thereafter.
Never assume coverage; always confirm scope before leaving.
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See Tests & Prices →What’s typically included. And the STI gap
Standard physicals cover vitals and BMI, metabolic and cardiovascular labs, diabetes screening, age-based cancer screens (mammograms, colonoscopies, cervical screening), immunization review, and lifestyle counseling. Comprehensive except for sexually transmitted infections.
STI assays require separate orders, separate samples (urine, swabs, blood draws already happening can often serve), and separate consent conversations that visit templates skip under time pressure.
The gap is systemic, not personal: templates omit STIs, so clinicians omit them unless prompted.
Adding STI coverage. The one-sentence fix
- Request phrasing: “Please include full STI screening with today’s labs. Urine, throat/rectal swabs where my exposures fit, plus HIV/syphilis blood work.” Scope confirmation: ask which assays and sites were actually ordered (names, not “the usual”).
- Standing-order setup: future visits auto-include screening without re-asking. Request it explicitly (“can we make this automatic yearly?”).
- Portal verification: check ordered panels in the after-visit summary before leaving the building, while corrections take seconds.
Patients who ask once yearly get screened yearly; patients who assume get skipped.
Visit-type specifics. Each has its own trap
- Physicals: add-on labs easiest (blood already drawing: HIV/syphilis join the tubes; urine and swabs add minutes).
- Pap visits: cervical screening samples do not substitute for STI NAAT. Different assays, same speculum, and the NAAT add-on must be ordered explicitly.
- Urology: symptom-driven testing plus screening requests (state both).
- Telehealth: lab-only orders without exams work well for asymptomatic screening. Samples at a nearby lab, counseling by video.
Confirm “are STI tests included today?” at gynecologic visits specifically, where the Pap-tray presence misleads most.
System fixes. Your requests drive adoption
- Opt-out screening protocols (testing as default, declined explicitly rather than requested).
- EHR order sets bundling STI assays with physical panels.
- Quality measures tracking screening rates.
Each spreads visit by visit. And patient requests are the adoption engine.
For what to request by risk profile, bring the question list in Preparing Questions for a Sexual Health Appointment.
When to seek care
At every physical (request inclusion), for standalone STI visits where physicals lag, and for standing-order setup ending the annual question.