Real Talk Blog

Teal Experience: What to Expect

May 19, 2025

Key Takeaways:

  • At Teal, we believe that how you experience your healthcare is just as important as the expert care you receive from our medical providers. We hope to make this the most comfortable, convenient, and easy process for you.
  • We will be sending you text messages (SMS) and emails throughout your at-home screening. This is to ensure you are fully supported and aware of what happens next in the process.
  • It may be the first time you are doing your cervical cancer screening on your own, but at no time will you feel alone in the process.
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Welcome to a more comfortable and private cervical cancer screening.

At Teal Health, we believe that how you experience your healthcare is just as important as the expert care you receive from our medical providers. 

We have designed a cervical cancer screening process that is accessible, flexible, and informative every step of the way. Below is a detailed view of what you can expect once you register and order your Teal Wand.

Spoiler: We will be sending you text messages (SMS) and emails throughout your at-home screening. This is to ensure you are fully supported and aware of what happens next in the process. When your screening and any follow-up care are complete, we will greatly reduce these communications until it is time for you to screen again.

1. Register and Attend Intro Visit 

  • You will complete the Eligibility and Account Registration process, which will end with you scheduling a 10-minute virtual Intro Visit with a Teal medical provider. 
  • You will attend the virtual Intro Visit. This visit is a required final step in ordering your Teal Wand screening kit. Our medical team cannot prescribe and ship your kit until you complete the Intro Visit. During this visit, you and the provider will discuss your past cervical cancer screening results, confirm your eligibility for at-home screening, and go over the Teal Health at-home screening process.
  • Additionally, if you are able to access your previous screening history and results, please upload this information to your Teal account.

Your previous results, combined with your upcoming at-home screening results, help our providers determine when you should screen next or if additional care is needed. Not everyone follows the standard 3-5 year screening guideline.

  • Once the Intro Visit is complete, our providers can prescribe you the Teal at-home screening box.

2. Teal Wand is Shipped

  • Once it is prescribed by a Teal medical provider, the Teal Wand box will ship to you.
  • You will receive a notification with the tracking information. All shipments are done through the United States Postal Service (USPS).

3. Teal Wand Kit Arrives at Your Address

  • The screening box will arrive by USPS at the shipping address you specified.
  • No activation is required. The Teal Wand is a prescription device, therefore, we have already validated and labeled the device and screening box for you. 
  • If there are any issues with your shipment, please contact our team at help@tealhealth.co or message us through your Teal portal.

4. Collect Sample and Ship 

  • Everything you need to collect your sample and send it to the lab is included in the Teal Wand box. 

If you are pregnant, on your period or bleeding, have a vaginal infection, or have had vaginal intercourse or used a vaginal product in the past 48 hours (or 1 week if you have used Metronidazole Vaginal Gel), please wait to collect your sample.

  • There are detailed instructions in your box that indicate how to collect your sample (usually takes less than 5 minutes) and package it to mail to the lab.
  • You will need to mail your sample via USPS within 24 hours of collecting

Avoid screening on days the USPS is closed, such as Sundays and holidays. You can drop this package into a standard USPS outgoing mailbox (if it fits), bring it to the USPS post office, or schedule a USPS pickup for the day you plan to self-collect. 

  • If you have any questions while collecting your sample, you can view our frequently asked questions, watch the instructional video, or message our team for help. 

5. Sample Received at Lab

  • You will be notified via email and text when your sample is on its way to the lab.
  • Once it arrives, the lab will process your results, and a Teal medical provider will review them.
  • Once your sample has been processed by the lab, they will dispose of the sample.

6. Screening Results Available 

  • Your results will be available in your secure Teal portal, and you will be notified via email and text when they are available to view.

We will not publish results for inadequate samples. So, if you received a result, you can be confident that you self-collected correctly (as over 98% of people do!). 

  • In addition to your results, you will receive a note from your Teal medical provider with instructions on your next steps.

7. Follow-Up Steps 

  • If your results require further discussion, we will request that you schedule a video visit to meet with a Teal medical provider. 
  • You can schedule this visit from within your Teal portal, as soon as you view your results.
  • During this call, the provider will discuss your results, what these mean in light of your screening history, and when you should screen next. If needed, they will refer you to an in-person clinic for follow-up care.
    • If referral care is needed, we will provide you with the contact information for a local provider to continue evaluating your cervical health. 
    • You will need to schedule that appointment, but we are here to help you if you need it. The Teal Health team will follow up to see that you have completed this critical step.

8. Complete 

  • When your screening process is complete, we will request that you rate your experience and provide feedback. We are always looking for ways to improve the overall experience for our customers, and your feedback can help us do that. 
  • We will also be in touch via text and email when it’s time for you to screen again.

We hope to make this the most comfortable, convenient, and easy process for you.

Lisa Santos
Product Marketing

Lisa Santos is passionate about women's health, design, and research, in that order. She is especially interested in innovations that have the ability to improve healthcare experiences for all.

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