America Living With AIDS

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Government should assure access to a system of health care for all people with
HIV disease.
At a minimum, a system of care for all people with HIV disease should include a
package of continuous and comprehensive medical and social services designed
to enhance quality of life and minimize hospital-based care. States, counties, and
municipalities should assure that such services are available for individuals with
HIV disease. Case management programs should be available to coordinate such
care. These services must include:
* HIV antibody testing that is voluntary and must be accompanied by counseling-both anonymous and confidential testing contribute in different ways
and both options should be available;
* education and counseling to help foster and maintain behavioral changes to
reduce transmission of the virus;
* medical care, including drug therapy and frequent diagnostic monitoring,
ongoing primary care, coordination of inpatient and outpatient care, access to
investigational new therapies, and adequate options for long-term care;
* psychological care, including mental health counseling and spiritual support,
that is helpful in coping with a frightening and sometimes overwhelming
condition;
* drug treatment to help individuals stop using or injecting drugs or adopt
safer drug use practices; and
* social services, including a range of housing options and income maintenance, without which medical advances may be beyond the grasp of those
who could most benefit from them.
2. HIV-related services should be expanded to facilities where underserved populations receive health care and human services, in part to ensure their increased
participation in trials of investigational new therapies.
3. HIV education and training programs for health care providers should be
improved and expanded, and better methods should be developed to disseminate state-of-the-art clinical information about HIV disease, as well as drug and
alcohol use, to the full range of health care providers.
The Commission believes all health care providers have an ethical responsibility
to care for people with HIV disease. In order to equip providers to better counsel
and care for people with HIV disease, government at all levels and local agencies
and institutions must develop more effective education programs and methods
for getting the information to all providers, particularly primary care providers.