Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Nov 2013
Routine HIV screening in North Carolina in the era of the Affordable Care Act: update on laws, reimbursement, and tests.
Eighteen percent of the 1.2 million human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals in the United States are undiagnosed, with North Carolina accounting for the eighth largest number of new HIV diagnoses in 2011. In an effort to identify more HIV-infected individuals by reducing physician barriers to HIV testing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have expanded their HIV screening recommendations to adolescents and adults without HIV risk factors or behaviors, eliminated federal requirements for pretest counseling, and modified the informed consent process. ⋯ In concert with these federal recommendations, the majority of states have modified their consent and counseling requirements. The implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will add requirements and incentives for federal (Medicare), state (Medicaid), and private (insurance) payers to reimburse physicians and patients for nonrisk-based HIV screening.
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Southern medical journal · Nov 2013
Accessibility and effectiveness of sources of information about HIV/AIDS in a rural population.
To determine the accessibility and effectiveness of different sources of information about human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in a rural population. ⋯ HIV-related information sources are being used by individuals living in rural regions. Unfortunately, exposure to such information was only weakly or not at all associated with the prevalence of most risk and protective factors. It can be concluded that HIV-related information, although accessible, has at best minimal effects on behaviors. More work is needed to increase the effectiveness of information about HIV/AIDS disseminated in rural regions.