You can get gonorrhea treatment at most places that provide basic medical care: your regular doctor’s office, an urgent care clinic, a sexual health clinic, a Planned Parenthood health center, or a federally funded community health center. Treatment is a single antibiotic injection, and in many cases you can walk in, get tested, and receive treatment the same day or within a few days of your results.
Your Main Options for Treatment
Almost any primary care provider can diagnose and treat gonorrhea. If you already have a doctor or nurse practitioner you see regularly, that’s a perfectly fine place to start. They’ll order a urine test or swab, and once results confirm the infection, they’ll either give you the injection on-site or refer you somewhere that can.
If you don’t have a regular doctor, or you’d rather go somewhere that specializes in sexual health, these are your best options:
- Planned Parenthood health centers offer testing and treatment for gonorrhea at locations across the country. They accept many insurance plans and provide low-to-no-cost care on a sliding scale based on income and family size. If you test positive, the clinic contacts you with next steps and handles treatment directly.
- Local health department STI clinics exist in most cities and many counties. These clinics often provide free or reduced-cost testing and treatment, sometimes on a walk-in basis. Search your county or city health department website for “STI clinic” to find one near you.
- Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are located in every U.S. state and territory. Funded through the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, these centers adjust fees based on your income and family size. They treat people regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. You can find one at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov.
- Urgent care clinics can test for gonorrhea and administer the injection. Most accept insurance, and costs vary. This is a good option on evenings or weekends when other clinics are closed.
What Treatment Looks Like
Gonorrhea treatment is straightforward. The standard is a single antibiotic injection, typically given in the hip or upper arm. That one shot is the entire treatment for an uncomplicated infection in the genitals, rectum, or throat. You don’t need to take pills for days or come back for multiple visits.
There’s one common addition: because gonorrhea and chlamydia frequently occur together, your provider will likely test for both. If chlamydia hasn’t been ruled out, you’ll also receive a week-long course of oral antibiotics to cover that infection. So in practice, many people leave with the injection plus a prescription for pills.
You should avoid sex for at least seven days after treatment and until any partners have been treated as well. Getting retested about three months later is recommended to make sure you haven’t been reinfected.
Cost and Insurance
If you have health insurance, gonorrhea treatment is typically covered as a standard medical visit. Your out-of-pocket cost depends on your plan’s copay or deductible structure.
If you’re uninsured or concerned about cost, Planned Parenthood and federally qualified health centers are your best bets. Both use sliding-scale fees, meaning the price adjusts to what you can afford based on household income. Many local health department clinics offer free STI treatment outright. Don’t let cost stop you from getting treated. Untreated gonorrhea can cause serious complications including infertility, and these low-cost options exist specifically so people can access care regardless of their financial situation.
Getting Treatment Through Telehealth
Some telehealth services advertise STI treatment online, but gonorrhea is harder to treat remotely than many other conditions. The standard treatment requires an in-person injection, not a pill you can pick up at a pharmacy. A provider also can’t prescribe antibiotics for gonorrhea based solely on an online questionnaire. Most states require a proper evaluation, including lab testing, before a prescription can be issued.
Where telehealth can help is in the testing step. Some online services mail you an at-home test kit, and if results come back positive, they’ll refer you to a local clinic for the injection. This can save time if you want to skip the initial in-person visit, but you’ll still need to go somewhere in person for the actual treatment.
Getting Your Partner Treated
Anyone you’ve had sex with recently needs to be tested and treated too, or you risk getting reinfected. If your partner can’t or won’t come in for their own appointment, ask your provider about expedited partner therapy (EPT). This is a practice where your provider writes a prescription that you can give directly to your partner, without your partner needing their own exam first. The CDC recognizes EPT as a useful option, particularly for male partners of women diagnosed with gonorrhea. EPT is legal in most states, though rules vary, so your provider can tell you whether it’s available where you live.
Privacy and Minors
Every U.S. state and the District of Columbia allows minors to consent to STI testing and treatment on their own, without a parent or guardian’s involvement. Most states have no minimum age requirement for this. The remaining states set the threshold between ages 12 and 14. This means a teenager can walk into a clinic, get tested, and receive treatment independently.
Confidentiality protections are less consistent. Roughly half of states have specific laws requiring clinicians to keep a minor’s STI services confidential. In states without those explicit protections, privacy practices vary by clinic. If keeping your visit private matters to you, it’s worth asking the clinic directly about their confidentiality policies before your appointment. Planned Parenthood and public health department clinics tend to have well-established privacy practices for younger patients.