Evaluation of the Impact of Routine HIV Screening in Primary Care

Since 2006, numerous testing initiatives have been launched across the United States to increase the number of individuals who know their HIV status. These initiatives are often venue based and reported in a variety of settings. However, the effectiveness of these initiatives has not been evaluated to determine if patients were identified earlier in the course of disease or would not have been otherwise tested. In 2010, a publicly funded teaching hospital implemented an electronic medical record prompt to improve the rate of routine HIV screening and diagnosis, focusing on primary care office visits. Both sex and CD4 count were found to be significantly related to being newly diagnosed after the intervention. Routine testing in primary care is an effective strategy to diagnose patients earlier in disease progression, particularly men who might otherwise not be tested and thus would remain undiagnosed until developing symptoms from advanced disease.