Innovations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Care Delivery During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: Policies to Strengthen the Ending the Epidemic Initiative-A Policy Paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Wendy Armstrong, Emory University; Allison L. Agwu, Johns Hopkins University; Ernie-Paul Barrette, Washington University in St. Louis; Rachel Bender Ignacio, University of Washington; Jennifer J. Chang, Kaiser Permanente; Jonathan Colasanti, Emory University; Michelle Floris-Moore, University of North Carolina; Marwan Haddad, Community Health Center Institute; Lynsay MacLaren, Whitman Walker Health; Andrea Weddle, Infectious Diseases Society of America
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-01-01
• Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1532
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
• Volume: 72
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 9
• End Page: 14
• Grant/Funding Information: No financial support was received for this manuscript.
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Ryan White HIV; antiretroviral therapy; telehealth; pre-exposure prophylaxis; Immunology; Microbiology; Infectious Diseases; HIV; AIDS Program; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Immunology; Health Sciences, Public Health; Biology, Virology

Abstract

The goal of the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative is to reduce new infections in the United States by 90% by 2030. Success will require fundamentally changing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and care delivery to engage more persons with HIV and at risk of HIV in treatment. While the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic reduced in-person visits to care facilities and led to concern about interruptions in care, it also accelerated growth of alternative options, bolstered by additional funding support. These included the use of telehealth, medication delivery to the home, and increased flexibility facilitating access to Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program services. While the outcomes of these programs must be studied, many have improved accessibility during the pandemic. As the pandemic wanes, long-term policy changes are needed to preserve these options for those who benefit from them. These new care paradigms may provide a roadmap for progress for those with other chronic health issues as well.