Counselor-based rapid HIV testing in community pharmacies

The purpose of this study was to examine the results of implementing a rapid counselor-based HIV testing program in community pharmacies. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of clients at five community pharmacies in New York City (NYC). In 294 days of pharmacy testing, 2805 clients were eligible to receive testing, and 2030 individuals agreed to test. The average age was 33±15 years, 41% were male, 59% were Hispanic, 77% had been previously tested for HIV, and 34% were uninsured. HIV incidence was 0.3%, median CD4 cell count was 622.0, and the average age of the newly diagnosed positives was 36.0±13.9 years. Participants were satisfied with a counselor-based rapid HIV testing program in community-based pharmacies.