National Quality Forum #: None
Description: Percentage of patients with a diagnosis of HIV who received HIV risk counseling1 in the measurement year
Numerator: Number of patients with a diagnosis of HIV, as part of their primary care, who received HIV risk counseling
Denominator: Number of patients with a diagnosis of HIV who had a medical visit with a provider with prescribing privileges2 at least once in the measurement year
Patient Exclusions: None
Data Elements:
- Does the patient have a diagnosis of HIV? (Y/N)
- If yes, did the patient receive HIV risk counseling at least once during the measurement year with appropriate feedback to the provider? (Y/N)
National goals, target, or benchmarks for comparison
The HIV Quality Measures (HIVQM) Module is a tool within the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Services Report portal. It allows recipients to enter aggregate data specific to HRSA HAB Performance Measures. The HIVQM Module allows recipients to conduct point-in-time benchmarking across Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs that use the module.
Department of Health and Human Services Clinical Practice Guidelines
"HIV-infected patients should be screened for behaviors associated with HIV transmission by using a straightforward, nonjudgmental approach. This should be done at the initial visit and subsequent routine visits or periodically, as the clinician feels necessary, but at a minimum yearly. Any indication of risky behavior should prompt a more thorough assessment of HIV transmission risks."
"Clinicians providing medical care to HIV-infected persons can play a key role in helping their patients reduce risk behaviors and maintain safer practices and can do so with a feasible level of effort, even in constrained practice settings. Clinicians can greatly affect patients' risks for transmission of HIV to others by performing a brief screening for HIV transmission risk behaviors; communicating prevention messages; discussing sexual and drug-use behavior; positively reinforcing changes to safer behavior; referring patients for such services as substance abuse treatment; facilitating partner notification, counseling, and testing; and identifying and treating other STDs."3
Use in other federal programs
None
References/notes
1 HIV risk counseling includes assessment of risk, counseling and as necessary, referrals. Counseling occurs in the context of comprehensive medical care and can be provided by any member of the multidisciplinary primary care team.
2 A "provider with prescribing privileges" is a healthcare professional certified in his/her jurisdiction to prescribe medications.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Incorporating HIV prevention into the medical care of persons living with HIV: recommendations of CDC, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (PDF - 423 KB). MMWR 2003; 52 (No. RR-12): 2-3. Available online. Accessed August 2023.