With 57% fewer cases of gonorrhea than the US norm, Puako, Hawaii County has reason to celebrate. Whether you have symptoms or just want peace of mind, you have two main options in Puako: same-day testing at local clinics, or planning ahead with labs and at-home kits. Check the list below to see what fits you best.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Puako, HI. The nearest, Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii, is about 4.8 miles away. Compare community and public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits below.
Listings tagged Community health center are federally funded health centers and rural clinics that treat everyone regardless of insurance or ability to pay: required to bill on a sliding fee scale and provide confidential care, and in many states minors may consent to their own STI testing. A Title X tag flags centers funded for confidential family-planning services; confirm current participation when you call.
Source: CMS FQHC & Rural Health Clinic enrollment files (data.cms.gov), refreshed quarterly. Title X status reflects the latest OPA grantee list.
Hawaii Island Community Health Center in Waikoloa tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, hepatitis B and C, and HIV on a sliding-scale fee open to everyone, with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections and appointments required. PrEP and PEP are both prescribed on-site.
Prevention-only clinics routinely hand off PrEP and PEP prescribing to a primary-care provider, a separate appointment, a separate relationship. Hawaii Island Community Health Center carries both prescriptions in-house, so prevention isn't deferred to a second stop.
The center employs substance-use treatment services alongside STI care, meaning a clinician managing medication adherence or counseling for substance use is already on staff. Not coordinated externally. Both tracks draw on the same care team rather than separate referral pipelines.
The panel here covers herpes and both hepatitis B and C alongside the bacterial infections and HIV, which means a single visit can produce a complete picture. Patients aren't left scheduling separate labs to fill gaps the basic four leave open.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jan 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
A safety-net rural health clinic about 13 miles from Puako. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Hamakua Kohala Health in Waimea tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV on a sliding-scale fee structure open to everyone, with appointments required for same-visit bacterial treatment, HPV and hepatitis vaccines, and the full range of STI care. All provided at no charge.
When cost sits between a person and treatment, infections persist, follow-up visits get skipped, and care breaks down at exactly the wrong moment. At Hamakua Kohala Health, every service (testing, treatment, vaccines) carries no fee, so nothing at this clinic compounds the problem.
The standard STI panel at most clinics stops at gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV. Hepatitis C and TB quietly fall outside it. Hamakua Kohala Health tests for both, alongside TB treatment, closing gaps that a narrower panel would simply leave open.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Apr 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Free tool · not a clinic
Testing too soon can miss an infection. Enter the date of possible exposure to see the earliest a test can reliably detect each STI.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Conclusive after |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Gonorrhea | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Trichomoniasis | 7 days after exposure | 28 days after exposure |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10 days after exposure | 33 days after exposure |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18 days after exposure | 45 days after exposure |
| HIV (antibody) | 21 days after exposure | 84 days after exposure |
| Syphilis | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis B | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis C | 56 days after exposure | 77 days after exposure |
| Herpes (HSV) | 28 days after exposure | 112 days after exposure |
Guidance only, confirm timing with a clinician. A negative result before the conclusive date may need a repeat test.
Typical out-of-pocket ranges by option, actual cost depends on which tests you need.
Public / community clinic
Free HIV testing is common
Private lab (self-pay)
Never billed to insurance
At-home kit
Mailed to your door, private
Doctor / urgent care
Often $0 preventive with insurance
No centers match those filters. Clear the service-type filter or the opening-hours filters to see every center.
Every other option
Beyond the dedicated testing centers above: at-home kits by mail, hospital labs certified for STI testing, local clinicians who can order a panel during a regular visit, pharmacies for self-test kits and prescriptions, and online PrEP & treatment.
Test from home
The nearest testing center is about 5 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Puako, you collect the sample privately, and mail it back to a CLIA-certified lab. Results come online in days, with a clinician available if anything is positive. Same labs as a clinic, no waiting room, and you can read how accurate at-home STD tests are before you order.
Want a free option first? The CDC-supported TakeMeHome (opens in a new tab) program mails free at-home HIV self-test kits, and, in many areas, free STI kits, to your door, with no insurance or payment needed. The paid kits below add broader panels and faster turnaround.
In-home collection
$79 & up
Best value: single tests
$49 & up
Best range: couples & full panels
$79 & up
Every kit uses CLIA-certified labs. At-home testing is for screening; a reactive result should be confirmed and treated by a clinician. Prices and panels shown are illustrative and change often, confirm current details on the provider's site.
Also in the area
Beyond the public testing sites above, these federally certified (CLIA) labs serve Hawaii County, each lab's town is shown on its card below. Many test through a doctor's order or by appointment rather than walk-in, so call ahead to confirm STD/STI testing and availability before visiting.
67-1123 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, HI 96743
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
67-1125 Mamalahoa Highway, Room B, Kamuela, HI 96743
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
67-1125 Mamalahoa Highway, Room A, Kamuela, HI 96743
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
65-1158 Mamalahoa Highway, #27B, Kamuela, HI 96743
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Puako. A CLIA certificate records only that a laboratory is federally certified — it does not confirm the site performs STD testing, nor its hours, price or access. Inclusion is not an endorsement; always call to verify.
Local clinicians
Beyond dedicated clinics, 79 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Puako. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 19 offer telehealth.
Corinne Laurance, MD
Internal medicine · 68 -1845 Waikoloa Road, Waikoloa
William Sageman, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 59 -351 Lehiwa Place, Kamuela
Lorraine Sonoda Fogel, MD
Internal medicine · 65-1230 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela
James Madison, DO
Internal medicine · 67-1125 Mamalaho Highway, Kamuela
Dustan Osborn, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 67-1125 Mamalaho Highway, Kamuela
Victoria Fox Behrle, MD
Internal medicine · 67-1185 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela
These are registry-listed clinicians, not dedicated STD-testing clinics. CMS records do not independently verify current licensure, testing services, availability, price, or new-patient status. Confirm each detail before booking. Source: CMS Doctors & Clinicians.
Nearby pharmacies
No pharmacy near Puako, HI publishes an STD-related service or holds a current CLIA testing certificate, so these are simply the closest. Contact a location directly to confirm counter hours, services, prices, and availability before visiting.
Waikoloa Village Market Pharmacy
4.8 miLongs Drugs
13 miLongs Drugs #02406
13 miFoodland Pharmacy
14 miKta Kamuela Pharmacy
14 mi
20 mi Showing the 6 closest pharmacies to Puako, HI.
Directory records identify nearby pharmacies. Service, stock, price, and hours information is shown only when supported by current location-specific evidence.
Prevention & treatment
Testing is one step. For residents of Puako, telehealth covers the rest: HIV-prevention medication (PrEP) and DoxyPEP to lower future risk, and discreet online treatment if a result comes back positive. All prescribed by licensed U.S. clinicians.
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
Pricing varies by insurance and changes often, confirm on the provider's site. These services are not a substitute for emergency care.
STD stats & rates
How reported STI rates in Hawaii County, the county that includes Puako, compare with Hawaii and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~13% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#2 of 5 Hawaii counties for chlamydia, among the very highest in the state
| Infection | Hawaii County | Hawaii | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 333.8 693 cases ▼ 23% | 435.6 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 77.1 160 cases ▼ 39% | 126.7 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 9.6 20 cases ▼ 24% | 12.7 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 3.4 7 cases ▼ 51% | 7 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 10.1 21 cases ▼ 48% | 19.6 | 29.5 |
Rates per 100,000 population, 2023. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis). Population figures: U.S. Census Bureau ACS. These figures are the latest available surveillance estimates. Bars are scaled to the highest rate shown.
Reading these numbers: reported case rates only count infections that were actually tested for and diagnosed, so they track local screening effort as much as true spread: a higher rate can reflect more testing, a lower one less. Either way, most STIs cause no symptoms, so treat the figures above as context rather than a verdict, and test on the CDC's schedule regardless of how your area looks.
Between 2020 and 2023 in Hawaii County, chlamydia has fallen from 341.4 to 333.8 per 100,000 (2%), gonorrhea has risen from 60.8 to 77.1 per 100,000 (27%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 4 to 9.6 per 100,000 (140%).
The 2020 dip reflects reduced pandemic-era screening, not lower transmission. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis).
Community health context
Sources: CDC PLACES (ZIP), County Health Rankings, CDC/ATSDR SVI, HRSA HPSA, HRSA MUA/P, Neighborhood Atlas ADI. Lower insurance coverage, fewer routine checkups, and a thin primary-care ratio all raise the value of low-cost public clinics and at-home testing in Hawaii County.
Local HIV snapshot
Hawaii County HIV care continuum (2023)
Hawaii County recorded 4 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 4.8 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Hawaii County residents living with HIV, 87.9% are in care · 81% are virally suppressed. Early, routine testing is what moves these numbers: it is the entry point to PrEP, treatment, and viral suppression.
Sources: AIDSVu (Emory/Gilead) · CDC AHEAD · CDC AtlasPlus · CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county care continuum). The CDC recommends everyone aged 13–64 test for HIV at least once: every lab and clinic listed above offers HIV testing, and free rapid HIV testing is available at a local health department.
Congenital syphilis, passed from parent to baby in pregnancy, is the fastest-rising STI in the country. U.S. cases climbed from 2,163 in 2020 to 3,882 in 2023. It is almost entirely preventable: the CDC recommends a syphilis test at the first prenatal visit, and every clinic and lab listed for Hawaii County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Puako's rhythms turn on the ocean and the seasons: fishing, hospitality, construction that ebbs with tourism, and the slower pace of those who've chosen to stay put here for decades. Many households are rooted, multigenerational or built around partners who've made their life together on the Kohala Coast. Alongside them live young adults who work the hotels, the trades, or remote jobs, and who cycle through their twenties and thirties with different health needs than their older neighbors. That mix means testing in and around Puako serves people at very different life stages, all of them entitled to the same quiet, judgment-free care. Confidentiality here isn't theoretical, it's a practical necessity in a place where most people know the faces at the grocery store.
A clinic visit or a lab result is your own business, and the providers listed on this page understand that discretion isn't a courtesy but a foundation. Young adults especially benefit from that privacy when they're thinking through their sexual health without wondering who might overhear or what assumptions might follow. Testing availability in Puako reflects the island's healthcare landscape: some services are steps away; others require a short drive toward Hāpuna Beach State Recreation Area or along HI 19. That geography shapes when and how people seek screening, and knowing what's near, and what requires planning ahead, makes the difference between "I'll do it sometime" and actually getting tested.
Getting there
At 5.46/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Puako generally mean driving: plan on a car or rideshare to reach a clinic, and check each listing's hours and phone before you go.
Source: EPA National Walkability Index 2021.
ZIP 96743 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 96743 area around Puako: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Puako alone.
Puako sits in Hawaii County, ZIP 96743. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Neighborhoods & communities
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Puako? These nearby communities have their own testing guides: clinics, at-home kits, and free screening close to home.
Reference
Everything to know before you test in Hawaii County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Hawaii law. If you have symptoms right now, our confidential symptom checker maps them to the tests worth considering.
Based on current CDC screening recommendations.
| Group | Tests | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone aged 13–64 | HIV | At least once |
| Sexually active women under 25 | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Women 25+ with new or multiple partners | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Pregnant people | HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B & C, chlamydia | Early in pregnancy |
| Gay & bisexual men (MSM) | Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV | Every 3–6 months |
| Anyone who shares injection equipment | HIV, hepatitis B & C | At least yearly |
| All adults at least once | Hepatitis C | At least once |
Testing too early can return a false negative, confirm timing with a Puako-area provider.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Gonorrhea | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Trichomoniasis | 1–4 weeks | Urine or swab |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10–33 days | Blood |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18–45 days | Blood |
| HIV (antibody) | 3–12 weeks | Blood / oral |
| Syphilis | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis B | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis C | 8–11 weeks | Blood |
| Herpes (HSV) | 4–16 weeks (antibody); swab a sore | Blood / swab |
These are the federal Medicare reference prices for processing each lab test. Public clinics and the community health centers serving Puako often test free or on a sliding scale; private labs and at-home kits bundle several tests into one fee. Use this as a per-test benchmark before you pay out of pocket, or see the full guide to STD test costs for insurance, free, and at-home options.
| Test | Reference price | CPT / HCPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87491 |
| Gonorrhea (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87591 |
| Trichomoniasis (NAAT) | $47.76 | 87661 |
| HIV-1/2 antigen/antibody | $26.87 | 87389 |
| HIV-1/2 antibody | $22.44 | 86703 |
| Syphilis (RPR/VDRL) | $5.61 | 86592 |
| Syphilis (treponemal antibody) | $17.49 | 86780 |
| Herpes (HSV NAAT) | $47.76 | 87529 |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen | $15.33 | 87340 |
| Hepatitis C antibody | $29.16 | 86803 |
Source: Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, CMS, 2025 rates (data.cms.gov). Reference rate for the lab assay only: a clinic visit, sample collection, or a bundled multi-test panel may cost more. Medicaid and most insurers cover STD screening at no out-of-pocket cost.
Two things that actually depend on Hawaii law: who can consent, and whether partners can be treated without their own visit. Everything else about testing privately is the same nationwide (see below).
In Hawaii, a minor aged 14 or older can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Hawaii permits Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT): if you test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea, your provider can give you medication (or a prescription) to pass to your partner, no separate exam or appointment needed for them.
Keeping a test private works the same in every state. Whether an STD test shows on insurance (the EOB), how to test anonymously, and self-pay options that leave no insurance trail don’t change by location.
Learn more about confidential STD testing in HawaiiSource: Guttmacher Institute, Minors' Access to STI Services; CDC, Legal Status of Expedited Partner Therapy. General information, not legal advice.
Good to Know
Answers to the questions people ask most before getting tested.
The closest is Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii (4.8 mi); 7 options are within 30 miles.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Yes, community and public clinics test the uninsured, with sliding-scale fees.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 334 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Hawaii average.
In Hawaii, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
It depends: a blood draw covers HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis, while urine or a swab covers chlamydia and gonorrhea.
The gap between exposure and when a test can reliably detect the infection; testing inside it can miss a real infection.
Yes, test after the window period, and if HIV exposure is a concern, ask about PEP within 72 hours.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.