title: Moving Beyond Screening: How Emergency Departments Can Help Extinguish the HIV/AIDS Epidemic.
abstract: While great strides have been made in diagnostic and treatment strategies, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a major public health epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article, "Vital Signs: HIV Diagnosis, Care, and Treatment Among Persons Living with HIV - United States, 2011," highlights current areas of concern regarding HIV diagnosis and care. The CDC estimates that 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV. Of them, 86% have received a diagnosis (14% remain undiagnosed and unaware), but only 40% are engaged in care and a mere 30% are virally suppressed. Emergency departments (EDs) can play a major role in combatting the HIV epidemic through regular screening and facilitating linkage to chronic HIV care. Universal opt-out screening as recommended by the CDC in 2006 has been shown to be effective but expensive, and has not been widely implemented in EDs nationwide. Cost-effective models and a renewed commitment from ED providers are needed to enhance ED-based HIV containment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Department of Emergency Medicine, Los Angeles, California; USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Menchine
authors.affiliation: Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Irvine, California.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lotfipour
authors.affiliation: University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Irvine, California.
authors.forename: Bharath
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chakravarthy
mesh_terms: D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States