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CLINICIANS MUST BECOME MORE AWARE OF CLINICAL TRIGGERS THAT SUGGEST A PATIENT’S INCREASED RISK
05 April 2004 - Boston University
| Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have shown that missed opportunities for addressing HIV testing remain unacceptably high when patients seek medical care in the period before their HIV diagnosis. The study appears in the April 2004 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. |
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have shown that missed opportunities for addressing HIV testing remain unacceptably high when patients seek medical care in the period before their HIV diagnosis. The study appears in the April 2004 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The researchers, led by Jeffrey Samet, MD, professor of medicine at BUSM and chief of General Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center, performed a 10-year retrospective chart review of patients seen at an HIV intake clinic between January 1994 and June 2001 who: 1) tested positive for HIV during the 12 months prior to their presentation at the intake clinic and 2) had one or more encounters recorded in the medical record prior to their HIV positive status. Among the 221 patients meeting eligibility criteria, all had at least one trigger for HIV testing found in a prior encounter note. Of the 3424 encounters reviewed, triggers were found in 50 percent of these medical visits. HIV was addressed in 27 percent of visits in which triggers were identified. According to Samet, while missed opportunities for addressing these triggers still remain high, despite improvement in testing in recent years, variation by site of care remained important. “In particular, the emergency department merits consideration for increased resource commitment to facilitate HIV testing,” said Samet. Lastly, in order to detect HIV infection prior to advanced immunosuppression, clinicians must become more aware of clinical triggers that suggest a patient’s increased risk for this infection and lower the threshold at which HIV testing is recommended.
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Boston University has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in research in a wide range of disciplines and a demonstrated commitment to fostering innovative interdisciplinary research. The Office of the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Education supports the University in facilitating research at the both the student and faculty levels.Our mission is to enhance and encourage research at Boston University and to provide a climate conducive to maintaining the University at the cutting edge of research and scholarly activities. We work with the Boston University community to plan and coordinate interdisciplinary research and represent the University in research matters related to Inter-University consortia. To encourage new, innovative, and cross-disciplinary efforts, this office administers the Special Program for Research Initiation Grants (SPRInG). We showcase graduate research at Science & Technology Day. This annual event features nearly 200 research posters by graduate students from both the Medical and Charles River Campuses working in a wide range of disciplines. Our annual research magazine, Research at Boston University, informs a wide audience about a selection of our significant research findings and ongoing studies at Boston University. We also maintain a strong presence on the web through this site and through the Science Coalition’s website, which brings our research successes to the attention of Congress and other policy makers in the federal government. To assist Boston University researchers, this office oversees the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and coordinates with the Office of Sponsored Programs on the Charles River Campus , the research administration on the Medical Campus, the Office of Research Compliance, and the various graduate programs. For the development of commercially viable ideas, we administer the Provost's Innovation Fund and work closely with the Office of Technology Transfer. We also coordinate proposals where there are institutional limits to the number of proposals that may be submitted, cost sharing requirements, significant laboratory renovations, or other special circumstances. This office assists departments and centers to achieve a diverse faculty and graduate student body through our membership and activities with the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and through our affiliation with the Clare Boothe Luce program of the Henry Luce Foundation. |
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