HIV Screening and the Affordable Care Act

PrEP prescription in indiana 2017-2022: Implications for clinical practice

The Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative is poised to eradicate HIV through increasing screening and linkage to care. Despite this, the rate of HIV testing remains inadequate, and effective preventive measures like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are not adequately prescribed. A retrospective chart review was conducted to include 2017 through July 2022 from a large nonprofit health care system in the Midwest. Inclusion criteria included an HIV-negative diagnosis between 2017 and July 2022. Additional information includes gender, age, race/ethnicity, the primary payment method, the facility where screening occurred, history of PrEP prescription, and the provider who documented sexual health screening. Most patients were female (73%, n = 3366), followed by 27% (n = 1242) who identified as male. The majority identified as white (52.4%, n = 2415), and patients who identified as Black represented 45.3% (n = 2087) of the sample. Of the participants in the sample, n = 3030 (65.8%) did not have a documented sexual health assessment at the time of HIV screening. Black patients were 0.40 times less likely to report a PrEP prescription than their white counterparts. Patients screened by the provider and identified with infectious disease via a sexual mode of transmission demonstrated three times increased odds of being prescribed PrEP. This research highlights the importance of updating medical records systems to capture salient sexual health factors. Ongoing professional development should be made readily available so providers can conduct comprehensive sexual health assessments.

Sexual health discussion practices and HIV clinical care provided by primary care providers in the Southeast United States, K-BAP Study (2017-2018)

OBJECTIVE

Research underscores the importance of providers having routine discussions with patients about their sexual health. We examined the occurrences and association of routine sexual health discussion practices and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinical care among primary care providers (PCPs) in areas with high HIV prevalence.

METHODS

We analysed data collected between April and August 2017 from an online survey that assessed PCPs knowledge, behaviours, attitudes, and practices of HIV-related care in 6 Southeast US jurisdictions (Atlanta, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, District of Columbia, Miami, and New Orleans).

RESULTS

Among PCPs, we found that 39.2% routinely obtained sexual health histories, 78.5% offered HIV testing, and 16.0% ever prescribed preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Based on adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), the proportion of PCPs who routinely obtained sexual histories was higher among female PCPs (aPR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.04, 2.08), PCPs who had a patient population that was >50% men who have sex with men (MSM) (aPR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.72, 2.18), offered HIV testing (aPR = 3.60, 95% CI 2.23, 5.79), and ever prescribed PrEP (aPR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.06, 1.93).

CONCLUSION

Improving patient-provider discussions are needed to reduce HIV-related service barriers for disproportionately affected populations.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Routine discussions can reduce barriers to important HIV prevention and care services and help reduce disparities among patients living in highly prevalent HIV locations.

Annual HIV screening rates for HIV-negative men who have sex with men in primary care

Background

Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for most new HIV diagnoses in the US. Annual HIV testing is recommended for sexually active MSM if HIV status is negative or unknown. Our primary study aim was to determine annual HIV screening rates in primary care across multiple years for HIV-negative MSM to estimate compliance with guidelines. A secondary exploratory endpoint was to document rates for non-MSM in primary care.

Methods

We conducted a three-year retrospective cohort study, analyzing data from electronic medical records of HIV-negative men aged 18 to 45 years in primary care at a large academic health system using inferential and logistic regression modeling.

Results

Of 17,841 men, 730 (4.1%) indicated that they had a male partner during the study period. MSM were screened at higher rates annually than non-MSM (about 38% vs. 9%, p<0.001). Younger patients (p-value<0.001) and patients with an internal medicine primary care provider (p-value<0.001) were more likely to have an HIV test ordered in both groups. For all categories of race and self-reported illegal drug use, MSM patients had higher odds of HIV test orders than non-MSM patients. Race and drug use did not have a significant effect on HIV orders in the MSM group. Among non-MSM, Black patients had higher odds of being tested than both White and Asian patients regardless of drug use.

Conclusions

While MSM are screened for HIV at higher rates than non-MSM, overall screening rates remain lower than desired, particularly for older patients and patients with a family medicine or pediatric PCP. Targeted interventions to improve HIV screening rates for MSM in primary care are discussed.

Factors Associated With Partner Notification, Testing, and Positivity in HIV Partner Services Programs in the United States, 2013 to 2017

BACKGROUND

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) partner services are an essential component of comprehensive HIV prevention and care. We examined factors associated with partner notification, HIV testing, and HIV positivity among partners of HIV-diagnosed persons (index persons) contacted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded state and local health departments.

METHODS

We analyzed partner service data submitted to the CDC by 61 state and local health departments from 2013 to 2017. Using multivariate Poisson regression-adjusted for clustering effects among partners reported by a common index person-we assessed associations between 3 outcomes of interest (partner notification, HIV testing, and HIV positivity) and the demographic characteristics, risk behaviors, geographic region, and service year of index persons and their partners.

RESULTS

A total of 51,368 sexual and/or needle-sharing partners were matched with 33,524 index persons. Of notifiable partners, 97.2% were notified of their potential HIV exposure, and 52.3% were tested for HIV. Among 21,842 notified and tested partners, 23.8% were newly diagnosed with an HIV infection. Partner notification, HIV testing, and HIV positivity were associated with both partner and index person characteristics (individually and interactively), geographic region, and year of service.

CONCLUSIONS

Partner service programs provided through CDC-funded health departments were effective in both partner notification and identification of undiagnosed HIV infection among partners. However, HIV testing rate among notified partners remained low. Implementing strategies to address gaps in HIV testing can contribute toward ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.

How the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey has been used to identify health disparities in the care of patients in the United States

BACKGROUND

Healthcare disparities negatively impact patient health outcomes; addressing disparities could improve quality of life and decrease overall healthcare cost. The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) is an objective and reliable source for collecting information on United States (U.S.) ambulatory medical care service visits and may be a useful tool for identifying potential disparities in care.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this literature review is to describe studies utilizing NAMCS to capture U.S. healthcare disparities.

METHODS

PubMed was searched for scientific articles that utilized NAMCS to determine health disparities in the U.S. The keywords queried included "NAMCS" or "National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey" and "disparity" or "disparities" as a pair or additionally paired with one of the following: "race", "ethnicity", "age", "gender", "geography", or "insurance".

RESULTS

66 studies were found that incorporated NAMCS data from 1980-2016 into their methods to measure outcomes relating to health disparities. Disparities were found in the following categories: race/ethnicity, geographic location, age, insurance type, gender, specialist care versus primary care, body habitus, and preexisting conditions affecting patient outcomes. Disparities were identified in pain management, neurology, dermatology, psychiatry, patient communication access, and non-specialty specific or primary care visits related to disease conditions, screening, and treatment plans.

LIMITATIONS

Only PubMed was utilized as a search engine and may not encompass all studies on NAMCS and health disparities. NAMCS is a cross-sectional database and does not allow for longitudinal analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

NAMCS may be an underused tool given the limited number of articles that identify health disparities using it. Research studies utilizing NAMCS may identify potential disparities ultimately leading to better healthcare outcomes.

Towards ending the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic in the US: State of human immunodeficiency virus screening during physician and emergency department visits, 2009 to 2014

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is important for prevention and treatment. Ending the HIV epidemic is unattainable if significant proportions of people living with HIV remain undiagnosed, making HIV testing critical for prevention and treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine HIV testing for persons aged 13 to 64 years in all health care settings. This study builds on prior research by estimating the extent to which HIV testing occurs during physician office and emergency department (ED) post 2006 CDC recommendations.We performed an unweighted and weighted cross-sectional analysis using pooled data from 2 nationally representative surveys namely National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2009 to 2014. We assessed routine HIV testing trends and predictive factors in physician offices and ED using multi-stage statistical survey procedures in SAS 9.4.HIV testing rates in physician offices increased by 105% (5.6-11.5 per 1000) over the study period. A steeper increase was observed in ED with a 191% (2.3-6.7 per 1000) increase. Odds ratio (OR) for HIV testing in physician offices were highest among ages 20 to 29 ([OR] 7.20, 99% confidence interval [CI: 4.37-11.85]), males (OR 1.34, [CI: 0.91-0.93]), African-Americans (OR 2.97, [CI: 2.05-4.31]), Hispanics (OR 1.80, [CI: 1.17-2.78]), and among visits occurring in the South (OR 2.06, [CI: 1.23-3.44]). In the ED, similar trends of higher testing odds persisted for African Americans (OR 3.44, 99% CI 2.50-4.73), Hispanics (OR 2.23, 99% CI 1.65-3.01), and Northeast (OR 2.24, 99% CI 1.10-4.54).While progress has been made in screening, HIV testing rates remains sub-optimal for ED visits. Populations visiting the ED for routine care may suffer missed opportunities for HIV testing, which delays their entry into HIV medical care. To end the epidemic, new approaches for increasing targeted routine HIV testing for populations attending health care settings is recommended.