AIDS patient care and STDs
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AIDS Patient Care STDS · Nov 1999
Service delivery for patients with HIV in a rural state: the Vermont model.
The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is increasing rapidly in rural areas of the United States. Barriers to health-care delivery for this patient population include the complexity of this rapidly changing field, inexperienced rural physicians, long travel distances to receive expert care, lack of psychosocial support systems, and concerns about confidentiality. Models of HIV care for rural areas have not been developed that remove these barriers. ⋯ Patients will be able to receive their care in their own community, avoiding long travel distances. This may encourage patients to seek care earlier in their illness. The model may be adaptable to other rural areas of the United States.