Case Studies in HIV Testing: Deciding Who to Test and How to Discuss Results

Release Date: November 11, 2022
Expiration Date: November 11, 2023
Estimated Time to Complete: 1.0 hour

Activity Description

According to the CDC, 1.2 million people aged 13 and older were living with HIV (PLWH) in the US at the end of 2019. The CDC HIV Care Continuum offers a snapshot of this population from diagnosis, linkage to medical care, retention in care, and viral suppression. Of the 1.2 million PLWH, 87% were diagnosed, 66% had received medical care, 50% were retained in care, and 57% had achieved viral suppression. Furthermore, only 81% were linked to care within one month of a new HIV diagnosis. These gaps in the care continuum are major targets for the United States’ Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative to scale up HIV prevention and treatment to reach the goal of reducing HIV infections in the US by 90% by 2030. Early diagnosis, immediate linkage to care and rapid initiation of antiretrovirals are key public health strategies to get people virally suppressed faster to improve individual health and reduce HIV transmission in the community. It is crucial that the care team identify best practices for HIV testing and care linkage in partnership with communities to work towards Ending the HIV Epidemic.

Using a combination of didactic presentation and case vignettes, this free interactive CME/CNE-certified webinar will focus on how the care team can improve HIV testing rates and how individuals diagnosed with HIV are brought into the care continuum.

Learning Objectives

After participating in the activity, learners should be better able to:

Identify strategies for HIV testing and how to improve testing rates in the community
Describe an empathetic environment for disclosing an HIV diagnosis, providing disease and treatment awareness, and empowering patient engagement
Review roles of care team members and recognize areas to improve communication

Activity Faculty

Jillian T Baron, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Infectious Diseases Division
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania

Catherine Holdsworth, PhD, MSN, CRNP
Nurse Practitioner
Einstein Healthcare Network

Faculty Bios

Jillian T Baron, MD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine in the Infectious Diseases Division of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Baron obtained a Medical Degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a Master’s in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a focus on Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the medical director for the Penn Presbyterian Infectious Clinic and cares with a focus on HIV and general infectious diseases. She provides adult HIV care for caregivers of pediatric patients in conjunction with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Special Immunology Clinic. Her research interests include the HIV cascade of care and dynamics of STI transmission in the setting of HIV infection. She serves as the medical director for many of the clinic’s Ending the HIV Epidemic programs including HIV testing in the emergency room, linkage to care, and immediate access to HIV prevention including PreExposure Prophylaxis and PostExposure Prophylaxis.

Catherine Holdsworth, PhD, MSN, CRNP is a nurse practitioner at Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia. She is certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine and has provided primary medical care to people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV prevention services for more than 25 years. Dr. Holdsworth facilitated targeted HIV testing in the Emergency Department at Einstein for 10 years before developing and implementing a routine HIV testing program utilizing the electronic health record; and recently expanded this to include Hepatitis C screening.

Accreditation and Credit Designation

In support of improving patient care, American Academy of CME, Inc. is Jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physicians

American Academy of CME, Inc., designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM . Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity..

Nurse Practitioners and Nurses

American Academy of CME, Inc., designates this educational activity for 1.0 ANCC contact hours.

California
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16993 for 1.0 contact hours.

Physician Assistants

American Academy of CME, Inc. has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1.0 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until November 11, 2023. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Other members of the care team will receive a certificate of participation.

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of the HIV care team, including physicians (both specialists and primary care/family medicine), nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who are in practice but are newer to HIV medicine or who are in training. Other healthcare providers may also participate.

Disclosures

According to the disclosure policy of the Academy, all faculty, planning committee members, editors, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control content are required to disclose any relationships with any ineligible company(ies). The existence of these relationships is not viewed as implying bias or decreasing the value of the activity. Clinical content has been reviewed for fair balance and scientific objectivity, and all of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.

Disclosure of relevant financial relationships are as follows:

Faculty Educator

Jillian T Baron, MD, MPH: No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Catherine Holdsworth, PhD, MSN, CRNP, discloses the following relevant financial relationships: Speaker’s Bureaus: Gilead Sciences, ViiV Healthcare

Planning Committee

John JD Juchniewicz, MCIS, CHCP, FACEHP; Natalie Kirkwood, RN, BSN, JD; Edward Moylan RP; Daiquiri Y. Robinson: No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

This activity will not review off-label or investigational information.

The opinions expressed in this accredited continuing education activity are those of the faculty, and do not represent those of the Academy or its ACTHIV Institute. This educational activity is intended as a supplement to existing knowledge, published information, and practice guidelines. Learners should appraise the information presented critically, and draw conclusions only after careful consideration of all available scientific information

Instructions on How to Receive Credit

There are no fees to participate in the activity. Participants must review the activity information including the learning objectives and disclosure statements, as well as the content of the activity. To receive CME/CE credit for your participation, please complete the post-assessment and program evaluation. Your certificate will be available for printing immediately.

Privacy and Contact

For more information about the American Academy of CME privacy policy, please access http://www.academycme.org/privacy.htm For any questions, please contact: [email protected].

Hardware/Software Requirements

This program should be viewed at a resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher using current versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. A high-speed Internet connection is recommended.

Copyright

© 2022. This accredited continuing education activity is held as copyrighted © by American Academy of CME. Through this notice, the Academy grants permission of its use for educational purposes only. These materials may not be used, in whole or in part, for any commercial purposes without prior permission in writing from the copyright owner(s).