City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator
The CDC estimates that among the 1.2 million people living with HIV, 13% are unaware of their status.  HIV testing is the only way to identity individuals who are HIV positive unaware.  However, people often do not ask for a test unless they believe they may have been exposed to HIV.  To address this problem, the City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator’s Office recommends clinics and hospitals implement routine opt-out HIV testing.  Maroon Society conducted a three-part study to identify how to best encourage health providers to implement routine HIV testing.  Our results indicate that implementing routine testing requires top-down support from an executive in the health organization.  This must be accompanied by training and education about test administration, and billing for reimbursements.  Finally, providers need protocols for revealing test results, and making a link to an HIV provider when patients test positive for HIV.