Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Apr;18(2):98-104.
doi: 10.1007/s11904-021-00543-4. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

The Impact of COVID-19 on HIV Care Provided via Telemedicine-Past, Present, and Future

Jehan Z Budak  1 , John D Scott  2 , Shireesha Dhanireddy  2 , Brian R Wood  2
Affiliations
Review

The Impact of COVID-19 on HIV Care Provided via Telemedicine-Past, Present, and Future

Jehan Z Budak et al. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review summarizes HIV care delivered via telemedicine before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights areas of study to inform optimal usage of telemedicine in HIV clinical practice in the future.

Recent findings: To address barriers to care created by the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory agencies and payors waived longstanding restrictions, which enabled rapid expansion of telemedicine across the country. Preliminary data show that providers and persons with HIV (PWH) view telemedicine favorably. Some data suggest telemedicine has facilitated retention in care, but other studies have found increasing numbers of PWH lost to follow-up and worsened virologic suppression rates despite offering video and/or telephone visits. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated gaps in the HIV care continuum. To help mitigate the impact, most clinics have adopted new virtual care options and are now evaluating usage, impact, and concerns. Further research into the effects of telemedicine on HIV care and continued work towards universal access are needed.

Keywords: COVID-19; HIV; PrEP; Telemedicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

John Scott reports personal fees from Gilead Sciences and Premera Blue Cross. None of the other authors has any conflicts to disclose. Jehan Budak, Shireesha Dhanireddy, and Brian Wood declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Qiao S, Li Z, Weissman S, Li X, Olatosi B, Davis C, Mansaray AB. Disparity in HIV service interruption in the outbreak of COVID-19 in South Carolina. AIDS Behav. 2020;25:49–57. doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-03013-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Spinelli MA, Hickey MD, Glidden DV, Nguyen JQ, Oskarsson JJ, Havlir D, Gandhi M. Viral suppression rates in a safety-net HIV clinic in San Francisco destabilized during COVID-19. AIDS. 2020;34:2328–2331. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000002677. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stanford KA, Friedman EE, Schmitt J, Spiegel T, Ridgway JP, Moore M, Taylor M, Pitrak D, McNulty MC. Routine screening for HIV in an urban emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIDS Behav. 2020;24:2757–2759. doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-02899-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Telehealth Programs. Official web site of the U.S. Health Resources & Service Administration. Available from: https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/telehealth. Accessed 26 Nov 2020.
    1. Touger R, Wood BR. A review of telehealth innovations for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2019;16:113–119. doi: 10.1007/s11904-019-00430-z. - DOI - PubMed