You can get antibiotics for an STD at several types of clinics, including your primary care doctor’s office, urgent care centers, sexual health clinics, Planned Parenthood locations, and local health departments. Most of these options can see you within a day or two, and some offer same-day treatment. The right choice depends on your budget, insurance status, and which STD you’re dealing with.
Primary Care and Urgent Care
Your regular doctor can test for and treat most common STDs. If you don’t have a primary care provider or can’t get an appointment quickly, urgent care centers are a solid alternative. Many urgent care locations treat sexually transmitted infections as part of their standard services, with test results typically available within 24 to 48 hours. Some will prescribe antibiotics during that first visit based on your symptoms while waiting for confirmation from lab results.
This approach works well if you have insurance, since a standard office copay usually covers the visit. Walk-in availability means you can often be seen the same day.
Sexual Health Clinics and Health Departments
Public sexual health clinics run by city or county health departments are specifically designed for STD testing and treatment. They typically operate on a sliding-scale fee, meaning what you pay is based on what you can afford. New York City’s sexual health clinics, for example, provide low- to no-cost STI services regardless of insurance status, and they won’t ask for proof of income or family size. Many cities offer similar programs.
These clinics are often the fastest route to treatment because STDs are their core focus. Staff see these cases all day, testing is streamlined, and antibiotics are frequently dispensed on-site so you don’t need a separate pharmacy trip. To find one near you, search for your county or city health department’s STD clinic, or use the CDC’s “GetTested” locator tool.
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood health centers offer STD testing and treatment at most of their locations nationwide. They accept insurance but also serve patients without coverage, using a sliding fee scale. Beyond in-person visits, Planned Parenthood offers telehealth appointments in many states. You schedule a virtual visit, talk with a nurse or doctor by phone or video about your symptoms, and then either pick up your prescription at a pharmacy or receive it at the health center.
Telehealth Services
If you’d rather not visit a clinic in person, telehealth is an option for some STDs. Several platforms, including Planned Parenthood’s online service, let you consult with a provider remotely. After discussing your symptoms and sexual history, the provider can send a prescription to your local pharmacy.
Telehealth works best for straightforward cases like chlamydia, where an oral antibiotic can be prescribed and picked up at any pharmacy. It’s less practical for gonorrhea, which now requires an antibiotic injection rather than pills (more on that below). If your provider suspects gonorrhea, you’ll likely need an in-person visit.
Why the STD Matters for Where You Go
Not all STDs are treated the same way, and that affects where you can realistically get care.
Chlamydia is the simplest to treat. It requires a course of oral antibiotics, so any provider who can write a prescription, including telehealth services, can handle it.
Gonorrhea requires an injection. The CDC recommends a single shot rather than oral antibiotics because gonorrhea has developed significant resistance to many drugs over the years. An oral alternative exists but is less effective, particularly for throat infections, and overusing it could accelerate resistance to the remaining drugs that still work. This means you need to go somewhere a nurse or provider can give you the injection: a doctor’s office, urgent care, sexual health clinic, or Planned Parenthood.
Syphilis has traditionally been treated with a single injection of a long-acting penicillin. However, the CDC now recommends that non-pregnant men and women use an oral antibiotic taken twice daily for two to four weeks (depending on the stage) to help preserve limited injectable penicillin supplies. The injection remains the only recommended treatment during pregnancy. Either way, you’ll need an in-person visit for proper staging and blood work.
Do You Need Testing First?
In most cases, yes. Providers generally collect samples (a urine test or swab) to confirm which infection you have before prescribing antibiotics. This matters because symptoms of different STDs overlap, and taking the wrong antibiotic wastes time while the actual infection progresses. It also contributes to antibiotic resistance, a growing problem in STD treatment.
That said, providers sometimes prescribe antibiotics based on symptoms before test results come back, especially if your risk is high or your symptoms are clear-cut. This is a judgment call your provider makes based on what they see. Results typically take one to two days, so even if they wait, you won’t be in limbo for long.
Getting Antibiotics for Your Partner
If you test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea, your sexual partners need treatment too, even if they have no symptoms. In 48 states plus Washington, D.C., a practice called expedited partner therapy allows your provider to write a prescription or give you medication to pass along to your partner without requiring them to come in for their own appointment. This is particularly useful for male partners of women diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea.
Ask your provider about this option during your visit. Not every clinic offers it proactively, but most can provide it when asked. Your partner should still get tested when possible, but expedited treatment prevents reinfection in the meantime.
When You Need Emergency Care
Most STDs don’t require an emergency room visit. ERs are expensive and not designed for routine STD care. However, certain complications do warrant urgent attention. Pelvic inflammatory disease, a potential complication of untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea, may need hospital-level care if you develop severe pain, high fever, vomiting, or can’t keep oral medication down. Disseminated gonococcal infection, where gonorrhea spreads to the joints or bloodstream, also requires hospitalization. These situations are uncommon but serious.
For a straightforward STD without severe symptoms, skip the ER and head to one of the options above. You’ll get faster, more focused care at a lower cost.
Keeping Costs Low
If cost is a concern, public health department clinics and Title X-funded family planning centers are your best bet. These federally supported programs exist specifically to provide reproductive and sexual health services on a sliding scale. Many will treat you for free if you’re uninsured or underinsured. Planned Parenthood locations also accept patients regardless of ability to pay. The antibiotics themselves are generally inexpensive, even without insurance, since most STD treatments use older, generic drugs.