Reports Summarize HIV/AIDS Findings from University of California (Quality of Care for HIV/AIDS and for Primary Prevention by HIV Specialists and…

Insurance Weekly News

Reports Summarize HIV/AIDS Findings from University of California (Quality of Care for HIV/AIDS and for Primary Prevention by HIV Specialists and Nonspecialists)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Current study results on Immune System Diseases and Conditions - HIV/AIDS have been published. According to news reporting out of Los Angeles, California, by VerticalNews editors, research stated, "The role of HIV specialists in providing primary care to persons living with HIV/AIDS is evolving, given their increased incidence of comorbidities. Multivariate logit analysis compared compliance with sentinel preventive screening tests and interventions among publicly insured Californians with and without access to HIV specialists in 2010."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of California, "Quality-of-care indicators [visit frequency, CD4 and viral load (VL) assessments, influenza vaccine, tuberculosis (TB) testing, lipid profile, glucose blood test, and Pap smears for women] were related to patient characteristics and provider HIV caseload. There were 9377 adult Medicare enrollees (71% also had Medicaid coverage) and 2076 enrollees with only Medicaid coverage. Adjusted for patient characteristics, patients seeing providers with greater HIV caseloads (>50 HIV patients) were more likely to meet visit frequency guidelines in both Medicare [98%; confidence interval (CI 97.5-98.2) and Medicaid (97%; CI 96.2-98.0), compared to 60% (CI 57.1-62.3) and 45% (CI 38.3-50.4), respectively, seeing providers without large HIV caseloads (p < 0.001). Patients seeing providers with larger caseloads were significantly more likely to have CD4 (p < 0.001), VL (p < 0.001), and TB testing (p < 0.05). A larger percentage of patients seeing large-volume Medicare providers received influenza vaccinations. Provider caseload was unrelated to lipid or glucose assessments or Pap Smears for women. Patients with access to large-volume providers were more likely to meet clinical guidelines for visits, CD4, VL, tuberculosis testing, and influenza vaccinations, and were not less likely to receive primary preventive care."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Substantial insufficiencies remain in both monitoring to assess viral suppression and in preventive care."

For more information on this research see: Quality of Care for HIV/AIDS and for Primary Prevention by HIV Specialists and Nonspecialists. Aids Patient Care and STDS, 2016;30(9):395-408. Aids Patient Care and STDS can be contacted at: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc, 140 Huguenot Street, 3RD Fl, New Rochelle, NY 10801, USA. (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. - www.liebertpub.com; Aids Patient Care and STDS - www.liebertpub.com/overview/aids-patient-care-and-stds/1/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A.A. Leibowitz, University of California, Luskin Sch Public Affairs, Dept. of Public Policy, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States. Additional authors for this research include K.A. Desmond, J.L. Gildner and A.A. Leibowitz.

Keywords for this news article include: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America, Viral Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Conditions, Immune System Diseases and Conditions, Medicare, Diagnostics and Screening, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Immunization and Public Health, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, Opportunistic Infections, Primate Lentiviruses, Vertebrate Viruses, HIV/AIDS Vaccines, Quality of Care, Viral Vaccines, HIV Infections, Health Policy, Retroviridae, RNA Viruses, Medicaid, Influenza, Virology, University of California.