Reports from National Institute for Health Development Add New Data to Findings in HIV/AIDS and Herpes Zoster (Monitoring HIV-indicator condition…

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Reports from National Institute for Health Development Add New Data to Findings in HIV/AIDS and Herpes Zoster (Monitoring HIV-indicator condition guided HIV testing in Estonia)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Current study results on Opportunistic Infections - HIV/AIDS and Herpes Zoster have been published. According to news originating from Tallinn, Estonia, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "The aim of the study was to assess indicator condition (IC) guided HIV testing in Estonia from 2012-2015. We used Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF) data."

Financial support for this research came from National Institute for Health Development, Estonia.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from National Institute for Health Development, "EHIF is the core purchaser of health care services in Estonia, covering health care costs for insured people (94% of the total population). After health care services' provision, the provider sends an invoice to EHIF, which includes patient information (e.g. age, gender, diagnoses based on ICD-10) and services provided (e.g. what tests were performed). Among the ICs analysed, the highest proportion of patients tested was among those presenting with infectious mononucleosis-like illness (27-33% of patients) and viral hepatitis (28-32%), the lowest proportion of patients tested was among those presenting with herpes zoster (4-5%) and pneumonia (4-8%). Women were tested somewhat less than men, especially in cases of sexually transmitted infections (9-13% and 18-21%, respectively). Our data shows that IC-guided HIV testing rates are low in Estonia. Therefore, it is critical to follow Estonian HIV testing guidelines, which recommend IC-guided testing."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "In general, health insurance data can be used to monitor IC-guided HIV testing."

For more information on this research see: Monitoring HIV-indicator condition guided HIV testing in Estonia. Hiv Medicine, 2018;19 Suppl 1():47-51. (Wiley-Blackwell - www.wiley.com/; Hiv Medicine - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-1293)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from K. Ruutel, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia. Additional authors for this research include L. Lemsalu and S. Latt.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/hiv.12586. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Europe, Tallinn, Estonia, Herpesvirus, RNA Viruses, Retroviridae, Health Insurance, Vertebrate Viruses, Health and Medicine, Primate Lentiviruses, Opportunistic Infections, Diagnostics and Screening, HIV/AIDS and Herpes Zoster, Immune System Diseases and Conditions, Viral Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Conditions.