Since July of 2019, a unique collaborative team approach has been employed to optimize HIV and general infectious diseases telemedicine services delivered to correctional facilities throughout Arizona. The program builds on a program to provide telemedicine services to the Arizona Correctional system since 1998, with infectious diseases services being provided since 2009.
This team in the University of Arizona (UA) Petersen HIV clinics (PHC) includes an infectious diseases physician and a clinical pharmacist along with administrative, scheduling, and technological support. This model was adapted from a process already in place at PHC in Banner University Medical Center (Tucson, AZ) in which a physician, pharmacist, and clinical coordinator all see the patient simultaneously. This model was implemented in direct response to the numerous issues and barriers faced by individuals living with HIV, not only in affording costly antiretroviral HIV medications but in addressing social barriers that are just as likely to contribute to treatment failure. By the conclusion of the brief visits, all issues have been addressed relating to HIV care, including medication usage and acquisition as well as insurance coverage and follow-up plans.
