New HRSA Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care

An updated version of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care is now available free online.

Below is an edited excerpt from a HRSA press release describing the new guide.

HRSA Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care Now Available Online

The Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care, a comprehensive roadmap for physicians, nurse-practitioners, dentists and other clinicians on how best to manage the long-term care of patients with HIV/AIDS, is now available online.

Produced by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the updated volume covers more than 90 topics and provides guidance on a broad range of clinical care issues, including testing and assessment, health care maintenance and disease prevention, oral health, antiretroviral medications, and more.

"Providing care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS is a key goal for our agency," said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN. "The Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care is precisely the kind of information that we strive to disseminate as widely as possible, so that we can share our expertise, stimulate ideas and encourage best practices for those working with this community."

Among the major trends identified in the guide:

• Many patients continue to be identified when they are in the "late stages" of the disease and have developed other health problems, making their care and treatment more complex, especially as they live longer;
• Expansion of routine HIV screening in primary care offices and clinics means more patients are being identified by clinicians who have limited experience with the disease;
• Shortages in the health care workforce -- particularly in rural areas -- and the retirements of senior clinicians equates to fewer "front line providers" who know how to manage the long-term needs of those living with the virus.

"Positive change on such a massive scale over the last 30 years -- including significantly extended life expectancy, thanks to advances in antiretroviral medication -- brings with it new demands on clinicians. Given the long-term implications for those living with the virus there is no better time for a comprehensive guide book to provide easy access to crucial facts for a busy clinician," said Dr. Laura Cheever, deputy associate administrator for HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau.

The Guide is one in a series of HIV/AIDS protocols that HRSA has developed to assist providers in applying best practices in clinical management. Funded by HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the largest federal effort focused solely on HIV/AIDS care, the guide was developed with the HRSA-funded AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) National Resource Center.

The Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care is available online at http://hab.hrsa.gov. Printed copies can be ordered on the HRSA Web site.

6/28/11

Sources

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care. January 2011.

Health Resources and Services Administration. HRSA Guide for HIV/AIDS Clinical Care now available online. Press release. June 6, 2011.