Establishing an ED HIV screening program: lessons from the front lines.
In September 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its revised recommendations for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing. Prominent among these were the recommendations that emergency departments should perform routine screening for HIV infection. This report outlines the steps needed to set up an emergency department-based HIV screening program based on these guidelines. It contains the lessons that were learned when such a program was initiated at an academic emergency department. Consideration of these steps will help streamline the establishment of the program, but there should be careful consideration of the program's costs and sustainability before embarking on the process.
Brown
Jeremy
J
Department of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. jbrown@mfa.gwu.edu
Shesser
Robert
R
Simon
Gary
G
D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D017146:Models, Organizational; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016730:Program Development; D014218:Triage; D014481:United States