vaginapagina | Annual exam = pee in a cup? (Reply)

I went for my annual exam today (which, because I see my GP, includes general health as well as gynecologic stuff). After the medical assistant took my temp, pulse, and blood pressure, she asked if I was okay to give a urine sample. I had to pee anyway, so I said, "Yes, but can I ask what I'm giving a specimen for?"

She said that for well-woman exams, they like to give everyone a quick dipstick test (everyone's urine, I mean), to check for a UTI. I've been getting paps and pelvics for... 15 years?... and this was definitely the first time anyone's dipsticked my pee.

I didn't mind, really, since it's noninvasive for me and seemed like a well-intentioned sort of thing. I mean, I'm not really sure how many folks are walking around with asymptomatic UTIs; I would guess they turn up mostly negative results. On the other hand, a UTI is an urgent sort of thing (and a UTI-turned-kidney-infection is an emergency sort of thing), so even a few positives might end up being a pretty big deal.

So I'm mostly curious: Does anyone else's provider do a routine UTI dipstick during an annual exam? Also, what do you think about this as a routine thing? (I want to note -- because I think it's important -- that based on the way the MA asked and my past relationship with this provider, I think I could have easily declined this test with no pressure or fuss.)