학술논문

A System-wide Intervention to Improve HIV Testing in the Veterans Health Administration
Document Type
Report
Source
Journal of General Internal Medicine. August, 2008, Vol. 23 Issue 8, p1200, 8 p.
Subject
Medical colleges -- Health aspects
Medical colleges -- Analysis
HIV (Viruses) -- Health aspects
HIV (Viruses) -- Analysis
Public health -- Health aspects
Public health -- Analysis
Medical tests -- Health aspects
Medical tests -- Analysis
HIV infection -- Health aspects
HIV infection -- Analysis
HIV testing -- Health aspects
HIV testing -- Analysis
Language
English
ISSN
0884-8734
Abstract
Background Although the benefits of identifying and treating asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals are firmly established, health care providers often miss opportunities to offer HIV-testing. Objective To evaluate whether a multi-component intervention increases the rate of HIV diagnostic testing. Design Pre- to post-quasi-experiment in 5 Veterans Health Administration facilities. Two facilities received the intervention the other three facilities were controls. The intervention included a real-time electronic clinical reminder that encourages HIV testing, and feedback reports and a provider activation program. Patients Persons receiving health care between August 2004 and September 2006 who were at risk but had not been previously tested for HIV infection Measurements Pre- to post-changes in the rates of HIV testing at the intervention and control facilities Results At the two intervention sites, the adjusted rate of testing increased from 4.8% to 10.8% and from 5.5% to 12.8% (both comparisons, p Conclusions Use of clinical reminders and provider feedback, activation, and social marketing increased the frequency of HIV testing and the number of new HIV diagnoses. These findings support a multimodal approach toward achieving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's goal of having every American know their HIV status as a matter of routine clinical practice.