One approach to care for patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in an academic medical center.

Overview

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic poses unprecedented challenges to the health-care system. Caregivers must contend both with the complicated clinical syndromes associated with HIV infection and with issues that are central to the epidemic, such as discrimination, isolation, poverty, and substance abuse. Our HIV treatment program combines and enhances the resources of an academic medical center in a multidisciplinary care model. All patients, regardless of payor class, are offered services from 10 different disciplines. The same team of clinicians follows patients in the clinic and hospital. The program is flexible, non-hierarchical, and open to community participation. This approach may be a useful model for other institutions.