Treating Patients with HIV

Although there is no cure for HIV, there are treatment options that can help people with the infection live long and fulfilling lives. Patients who receive appropriate medical care and lower their viral loads (amount of HIV in their blood) are less likely to pass the virus on to their sex or needle-sharing partners. In this way, health care providers can play a key role to help reduce HIV transmission.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partners with the Health Department in addressing HIV in Vermont. CDC provides evidence-based guidance on a range of topics that can help health care professionals deliver quality HIV testing, treatment, and prevention services to their patients.

Vermont medical providers who are treating patients with HIV infection can consult with local specialists at the Comprehensive Care Clinics. The main office is located within the Infectious Disease Program at the UVM Medical Center.

The Health Department partners with local clinicians to provide lab testing and guidance on result reporting.

 

Sample Notification Form for Medical Providers Who Do HIV Testing

Pursuant to 18 V.S.A § 1001 (g), the Vermont Department of Health offers the following sample language for health care providers to inform patients of HIV reporting requirements and the existence of testing sites that can provide anonymous testing services:

“Positive HIV laboratory results are required to be reported to the Vermont Department of Health under the Reportable and Communicable Diseases Rule. This means that I am required to report your name to the Health Department if the result is positive.

Confidential, rapid HIV screening is available at community-based settings for people at high risk of HIV infection. If a screening test is reactive, a confirmatory test is needed. Only healthcare providers can offer confirmatory testing, and they would be required to report positive results and patients’ names to the Health Department.”

Reports and Posters

Report Guidelines for Universal HIV Counseling and Voluntary Testing of Pregnant People
Guidelines Summary and Reference Table
Guidelines Provider Flowchart

Other STIs

There is a wide range of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that sexually active Vermonters may be exposed to or infected with. These germs may be viruses (HIV, HPV), bacteria (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis) or parasites (pubic lice or crabs, trichomonaisis). Many STIs are treatable or can be cured, but the medications and protocols differ from germ to germ. The populations who are most affected by individual STIs are varied. Like STI treatments, STI testing guidance is not universal across all germs or for all risk populations.

We can help health care providers navigate these variables. The Health Department promotes testing and treatment guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We help ensure that Vermont medical providers have access to the latest information and implement best practices for their patients. CDC supports Expedited Partner Therapy for treatment of STIs. Expedited Partner Therapy for chlamydia and gonorrhea is legally permitted in Vermont and is something we strongly encourage providers to deliver.

In some cases, the Health Department can provide specific medications to clinicians to treat syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia infections in their patients. Medical providers can contact us in order to provide support services to Vermonters who are newly diagnosed with bacterial STI infections. We can help patients better understand what their STI diagnosis and treatment means for them. On a free and voluntary basis, the Health Department can assist people diagnosed with bacterial STIs to notify their sexual partners and link these partners to testing or treatment.

For more information:

Dr. Jonathan Mermin, National Center for HIV, AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Director, discusses how clinicians can protect the health of their gay and bisexual male patients with the simple actions of talk, test, and treat.

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