Information for Healthcare Professionals - Supporting Quality Patient Care

s.a.m health supports the healthcare system with expertise, counselling and guidance

s.a.m health offers asymptomatic individuals with a history of infection risk for sexually transmitted infections easy and discreet access to tests (screening) for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia infections.

Professional Counselling

Following registration, s.a.m health offers an initial counselling session with trained staff from a partner checkpoint of Deutsche Aidshilfe. During the session, it is assessed whether s.a.m health is the right service for the individual and at what intervals HIV and STI testing is recommended based on their personal risk profile.

People presenting with classic STI symptoms (burning sensation when urinating, genital itching, skin changes in the genital area) are advised, as part of the counselling, not to use s.a.m health for testing, and are asked to consult a medical practice promptly.

In the event of positive test results, our partner checkpoints provide guidance as part of the results communication and work together with the individual to determine where treatment can best be obtained.

Quality-Assured Laboratory Analysis

For all tests — HIV, syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia — standard laboratory tests are used, not rapid tests.

HIV Test

The 5th generation HIV screening test is a combination test for the detection of HIV-specific antibodies and p24 antigens of HIV-1 and HIV-2.

An HIV antigen/antibody test is clinically meaningful no earlier than two weeks after sexual exposure (diagnostic window). A negative result is considered sufficiently reliable six weeks after the risk event.

In the case of a reactive screening test, s.a.m health automatically initiates a confirmatory test: typically an immunoblot (to detect various antibodies against HIV-1/2) or — where necessary and appropriate — direct virus detection via nucleic acid testing (NAAT, e.g. PCR). The confirmatory test is carried out using the retained sample at no additional cost to our users.

Lues Test: Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA)

The screening test (EIA) detects IgG and IgM antibodies against the causative agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum. These antibodies are detectable no earlier than two to three weeks after infection (diagnostic window). A syphilis infection can generally be ruled out after ten weeks.

A positive screening result is followed by an IgM immunoblot to confirm or exclude the need for treatment.

In the event of a reactive result, the subsequent counselling session includes a referral to a medical practice. There, treponemal IgG antibodies are determined to confirm specificity, and quantitative IgM and lipoid antibodies are measured for any follow-up monitoring. These complex investigations require a venous blood draw. The capillary blood sample collected by s.a.m health is not sufficient for this purpose.

If a history of syphilis is identified during the initial counselling session, the screening test can be omitted. In this case, the IgM immunoblot is performed directly.

In the event of a reactive result, users are also referred to a medical practice during counselling, where confirmatory testing for Treponema pallidum IgM and IgG antibodies and a repeat Cardiolipin antibody test are carried out. These results serve as a baseline for future follow-up testing.

Treatment and follow-up monitoring are not within the scope of the s.a.m health testing service. Users with a relevant history are referred to a medical practice through the counselling process.

Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea Test: Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT)

Nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) is the reliable and efficient method for detecting or ruling out Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG). Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen. Co-infections with gonococci are common. Compared to culture, antigen tests and gene probe tests, NAAT has significantly higher sensitivity. For NG, this applies particularly to extragenital sites.

Test sensitivity depends on the quality of the sample collected. For genital infections, we do not offer swabs — including self-collected vaginal swabs or meatal swabs — for reasons of gender inclusivity. First-void urine samples are a sufficiently reliable detection method.

Samples from all swab sites are pooled in the laboratory for cost efficiency. Consequently, in the event of a positive result, it is not possible to determine from which mucosal site the positive CT/NG finding originates.

Accredited Laboratory

MVZ Labor Krone GmbH is a nationally and internationally active medical laboratory based in North Rhine-Westphalia, processing 15,000 to 20,000 human samples daily across all areas of medical care.

The Labor Krone Group employs around 500 qualified staff across sample analysis (Labor Krone and LABCON-OWL), sample logistics (labcar-owl) and medical data management (IMEDAC). The entire laboratory is accredited by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS) to DIN EN ISO 15189 (Medical Laboratory Diagnostics) and DIN EN ISO 17025 as a testing laboratory (Medical Laboratory Diagnostics in the context of clinical trials). 

Supporting Healthcare System Efficiency

Our service addresses both patient needs and German healthcare system challenges. Demographic shifts toward an aging, increasingly multi-morbid population, combined with physician shortages, strain long-term healthcare delivery capacity.

s.a.m health reduces physician workload by enabling asymptomatic, health-conscious patients with risk factors to self-manage routine STI and HIV screening. Upon detection of infection, users are promptly referred to clinical care for treatment.

Transition from s.a.m health to Primary Medical Care

Positive or reactive test results are always communicated by s.a.m health by phone or in person. In such cases, our users receive a notification asking them to call back or schedule an appointment. This allows our counselling staff to respond to users in a calm and competent manner, address any immediate questions and help alleviate common anxieties.

We also work with specialist practices and, where users do not have an existing treating physician they can approach directly, we refer them to appropriate doctors for treatment.

In the event of a positive HIV result, our counselling services assist with booking an appointment at an HIV specialist practice and, if desired, accompany users to their appointment.

Reporting obligations under the German Infection Protection Act

HIV and syphilis are subject to mandatory reporting by name to the responsible public health authority (Gesundheitsamt) under § 7 of the German Infection Protection Act (IfSG). s.a.m health ensures that this reporting is carried out promptly for all positive results.

Do you have further questions about s.a.m health? 

You will find answers to many of them in our FAQ. If you would like to offer s.a.m health through your practice or have further medical questions about our service, please contact us at: sam@dah.aidshilfe.de.