HIV and Primary Care Resources

The resources on this page can be used to support health centers and other safety net providers working to integrate HIV services into their primary care services.

Integrating HIV Services through Partnerships for Care (P4C)

Partnerships for Care (P4C) was a 3-year project (2014-2017) in which health centers partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded state health departments in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Florida. Project goals were to strengthen the workforce, build infrastructure, and provide HIV services. In fiscal year 2014, 22 health centers received supplemental funding to expand the provision of HIV prevention, testing, and care and treatment services, especially among racial/ethnic minorities.

The P4C project identified promising practices for the integration of HIV services into primary care and for building strong primary care-public health partnerships  to expand the provision of HIV prevention and care services. Promising practices recommend these elements for success:

• Multidisciplinary teams: Teams should be specific to health center structure (i.e., HIV providers, infectious disease specialists, case managers, etc.).
• Leadership and staff buy-in: HIV care teams must have leadership and staff buy-in to support program sustainability and promote health center cultural shift.
• Electronic Health Records (EHR) enhancement: Improving the use of health information technology and data analytics is essential to effectively track and manage HIV care.
• Strategic State/Local Partnerships: Data-sharing and case-conferencing strengthened partnerships between health centers and local/state health departments. These practices enabled health centers to identify new HIV infections and re-engage out-of-care patients. Partnerships with community organizations were key to comprehensive services for HIV-positive and high-risk patients (e.g., to address housing, transportation, legal, and substance use disorder issues).

Learn more in “Partnerships for Care Health Centers and Health Departments Collaborating to Improve HIV Health Outcomes, Year Two Update (PDF - 443 KB).”

Toolkit

The toolkit below captures the resources, tools, and lessons learned from P4C health centers during the project. All health centers who are interested in applying these promising practices may find it useful. This three-module toolkit includes case studies and vignettes from P4C grantees, addressing the five P4C focal areas:

• Workforce development
• Infrastructure development
• Service delivery
• Quality improvement and evaluation
• Sustainable partnerships

Integrating HIV Care, Treatment & Prevention Services into Primary Care – A Toolkit for Health Centers (PDF - 12 MB)

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