Applying HIV Testing Guidelines in Clinical Practice

An estimated one fourth of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are not aware they are infected. Early diagnosis of HIV has the potential to ensure optimal outcomes for infected persons and to limit the spread of the virus. Important barriers to testing among physicians include insufficie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican family physician Vol. 80; no. 12; pp. 1441 - 1444
Main Authors Mahoney, Megan R., MD, Fogler, Jess, MD, Weber, Shannon, MSW, Goldschmidt, Ronald H., MD
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Academy of Family Physicians 15.12.2009
Subjects
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Adolescent
Adult
AIDS
AIDS Serodiagnosis - standards
Clinical medicine
Disease control
Drug use
Federal legislation
Female
Health care access
HIV
HIV Infections - diagnosis
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Insurance companies
Insurance coverage
Internal Medicine
Male
Medicaid
Mens health
Middle Aged
Patient Selection
Patients
Physician-Patient Relations
Physicians
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - diagnosis
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - virology
Preventive medicine
Risk assessment
Risk factors
Substance abuse treatment
Womens health
Young Adult
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Summary:An estimated one fourth of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are not aware they are infected. Early diagnosis of HIV has the potential to ensure optimal outcomes for infected persons and to limit the spread of the virus. Important barriers to testing among physicians include insufficient time, reimbursement issues, and lack of patient acceptance. Current HIV testing guidelines address many of these barriers by making the testing process more streamlined and less stigmatizing. The opt-out consent process has been shown to improve test acceptance. Formal pretest counseling and written consent are no longer recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nevertheless, pretest discussions provide an opportunity to give information about HIV, address fears of discrimination, and identify ongoing high-risk activities. With increased HIV screening in the primary care setting, more persons with HIV could be identified earlier, receive timely and appropriate care, and get treatment to prevent clinical progression and transmission.
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ISSN:0002-838X
1532-0650