Comparing HIV Screening Strategies in Emergency Departments
A recent study evaluated different HIV screening strategies in emergency departments to determine their cost-effectiveness and programmatic costs.
Key Findings:
- The study compared nontargeted and two forms of targeted opt-out HIV screening in emergency departments.
- Results showed that nontargeted screening incurred higher costs due to an increased number of HIV tests performed.
- Each HIV screening strategy had similar costs per new HIV diagnosis, with traditional targeted screening yielding the lowest cost per new diagnosis.
- Enhanced targeted screening incurred higher costs but detected a similar number of new cases compared to traditional targeted screening.
Practical Implications:
- For settings with budget constraints or very low HIV prevalences, the traditional targeted approach may be preferred.
- Emergency departments looking to detect the most new cases may prefer nontargeted screening, despite slightly higher costs per new HIV diagnosis.
For more detailed information, you can access the full clinical trial report here.
