Eliminating Prevention Counseling to Improve HIV Screening

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates more than 1.1 million people in the United States are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, including 18% who remain undiagnosed.¹ In July 2010, the Office of National AIDS Policy issued the first National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States, with a short-term goal of reducing the number of individuals with undiagnosed HIV infection to 10% by 2015 and a more general goal of creating an AIDS-free generation.² Screening and testing for HIV infection is at the forefront of efforts to achieve these goals, and in 2013 the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) supported a broader HIV screening approach by changing its recommendation for routine HIV screening from grade C to grade A.³