June 27th is National HIV Testing Day, an annual campaign to encourage people of all ages to “Take the Test, Take Control.”
Nearly 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and an estimated 1 in 5 don’t know they are infected. Although HIV testing rates have steadily increased, more than half of Americans have not been tested for HIV in their lifetime.
The CDC recommends that all adolescents and adults get tested at least once for HIV as a routine part of medical care. Encouraging your patients to get tested will help guide them to treatment and care that can not only help them lead a long, healthy life, but reduce the spread of HIV.
Download the CDC fact sheet, HIV Testing in the United States to hand out to your patients.
For more resources on HIV, read related articles from Physician’s Weekly:
HIV & Injection Drug Use: Trends & Learning Lessons
Comparing Rural and Urban in HIV Care
Guidelines: Improving Retention & Treatment Adherence in HIV
Making the Case for Earlier ART in HIV
