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Health IT for HIV/AIDS Care Toolbox

This HIV/AIDS Health IT Adoption Toolbox was designed to serve the HAB community and other HIV/AIDS care providers. It is a supplement to the Health IT Adoption Toolkit, which targets Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) broader audience of community health centers, other safety net providers, and ambulatory care providers. While the information and resources in the Health IT Adoption toolkit are relevant to those providing HIV/AIDS care, this HIV/AIDS Health IT Adoption Toolbox addresses issues that are specific to HIV/AIDS providers and the patients they serve.

Providing clinical care to patients with HIV/AIDS is challenging. While HIV/AIDS was once considered to be a terminal condition, it is now classified as a chronic condition. HIV/AIDS patients are living longer and face a lifetime managing multiple long-term diseases. Consequently, these patients receive care from a growing number of providers and have increasingly complex medication regimens.  Although not a cure-all, health IT can be an important tool for managing the care of persons with HIV/AIDS. Electronic health records (EHRs) and other health IT systems can help HIV providers to identify patients in need of follow-up care, adhere to accepted clinical guidelines, recognize trends across patient populations, and support data collection and reporting activities.

This module, Introduction to Health IT for HIV/AIDS Care, provides you with an overview to health IT and the health IT issues that are unique to HIV/AIDS care.  It describes how these technologies can support care coordination.  It also offers information on potential sources to help fund your health IT, including the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program (also called "Meaningful Use").

In addition to this introductory module, the HIV/AIDS Health IT Adoption Toolbox includes four other modules:

• Selection and Implementation of Health IT Tools for HIV/AIDS Care
• Financing Health IT for HIV/AIDS Care
• Improving Quality and Efficiency with Health IT for HIV/AIDS Care
• Security and Privacy Issues for HIV/AIDS Care

For each question addressed, this toolkit provides a response and suggests resources that offer additional information. This toolkit will be updated to reflect available new resources and changes or clarifications to applicable rules.