Correlates of routine HIV testing practices: a survey of New York State primary care physicians, 2011

The New York State (NYS) HIV Testing Law of 2010 mandates that medical providers offer HIV testing to patients aged between 13 and 64 years during primary care, to increase the number of people aware of their infection status, and to ensure linkage to medical treatment. To assess physician practices related to this legislation, we conducted a study to identify the frequency and correlates of routine HIV testing behavior among primary care physicians approximately 15 months after the new law went into effect.

During September 2011 to January 2012, we mailed self-administered surveys to a representative sample of NYS primary care physicians drawn from the AMA Masterfile of Physicians. Questions included physician practices, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs related to routine HIV testing. Bivariate and multivariate analyses with a sample of 973 physicians were conducted to identify the most influential predictors of routine HIV testing behaviors.

A minority of physicians reported "always" or "frequently" practicing behaviors consistent with routine HIV testing, with 41.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 37.4 to 46.2] routinely offering tests to patients aged 13-64 years, 40.5% (95% CI: 36.3 to 44.8) to new patients, and 33.3% (95% CI: 29.4 to 37.6) to patients during routine physicals. Only 61.4% (95% CI: 57.4 to 65.6) said they had heard of the new law. In multivariate analyses, specialty, perceived barriers, familiarity with the law, and interaction terms representing familiarity by region and self-efficacy by region were significant predictors across the 3 scenarios of routine HIV testing behavior.

Additional technical assistance and training is needed for physicians on adopting routine testing behaviors, minimizing barriers and enhancing skills.