LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Norton Hospital is now screening patients for HIV when they come to the emergency department — though they can opt out.
Health care professionals want to detect and treat the disease early and to lower the chance that people who are infected — but don't know about it — infect others unknowingly. The hospital also is offering high-risk patients preventive treatments.
Norton has implemented the program to dramatically reduce the number of people living with HIV in Louisville.
“We’re trying to make sure we get people screened appropriately,” said Dr. Paul Schulz, an infectious disease specialist.
Schulz said Louisville has a high-risk population for HIV, but patients and doctors do not communicate enough, because it's a difficult conversation to have. By screening people in the emergency department, he said it takes that disconnect out of the equation.
“A lot of people don't identify their risk factors for their provider, so in other words, they may not come in and say they're high risk because of sexual activities (they're) engaged in or (they) use IV drugs and that sort of thing. So part of that screening is, you're going to capture people that may not be open about their risk factors or not even really understand them,” Schulz said.
HIV is the virus that progresses to AIDS if it’s not treated. When patients are at the hospital, a doctor will make sure they're okay with being tested for HIV. Patients can decline the test.
Testing at Norton Hospital downtown started in September. About eight new cases are diagnosed there each month. Doctors want patients to get started on treatments as soon as possible.
High-risk patients whose tests do not show the virus being present can take preventive treatments.
“About half of the transmissions of HIV in the US come from the 20% of people that have it and don't know it,” Schulz said. “So theoretically if you identify that person and get them on treatment, then you can prevent additional transmissions.”
Norton plans to expand the HIV testing in emergency departments to Norton Women's and Children's in St. Matthews, Norton Audubon and Norton Brownsboro hospitals.
World AIDS Day is Sunday.
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