By next fall, people will be able to walk into a pharmacy in three provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador, and get a rapid test for Hepatitis C, HIV or Syphilis.

It’s part of the APPROACH 2.0 study through the School of Pharmacy at Memorial University.

Dr. Debbie Kelly, an associate professor and the lead researcher on the project, says the objective is to improve diagnosis so that more people can seek treatment.

Patients will get the results of their rapid test for HIV and Hep C in minutes but it will take a a few days for results of tests for Syphilis.

It’s estimated that 11 per cent of people with HIV don’t know they have it but the estimate is much higher for those with Hepatitis C—40 per cent.

The other two provinces offering the rapid testing are Alberta and Nova Scotia.