Got unhappy STD news? Break it with an e-card

Breaking up over e-mail is a social no-no. But sending an e-card telling someone to get tested for STDs may be a public health courtesy. Since 2004, a free Web site, inSpot.org has allowed users to anonymously notify their partners to get tested for STDs such as HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. It may not be the most personal way of delivering the news, but researchers say it beats not saying anything at all. "When you weigh the importance of getting people notified, that's ultimately what needs to be done," said Jeffrey D. Klausner, director of STD Prevention and Control Services in San Francisco, California's Department of Public Health. "By notifying them -- even if it's done anonymously, even distantly, even with an e-card -- the benefits of getting someone diagnosed and treated outweigh the concerns of insensitivity."