This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Michael Saag, MD: Hello. I'm Dr Michael Saag, and welcome to Medscape InDiscussion: HIV. Today we're talking about HIV testing and linkage to care, a topic that is vital to our ability to end the HIV epidemic.
So let's start with a case. A 23-year-old woman presents to the emergency department for a fractured radius following a motor vehicle collision. On routine testing in the ER she is found to be HIV positive by rapid testing. She is sexually active, denies IV drug use, and estimates that she has had eight different sexual partners over the past 2 years. One year ago, she was diagnosed and treated for pharyngeal gonococcus in an urgent care center. She was not tested for HIV at that visit.
Today's guest to help us work through this topic is Dr Aadia Rana, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and associate scientist with the UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).
Dr Rana's work focuses on disparities in access and adherence to medical treatment among people with HIV and implementation of evidence-based interventions to improve engagement with HIV care. She leads the UAB CFAR's Ending HIV in Alabama Scientific Working Group, which includes a broad range of clinical epidemiologic, sociobehavioral researchers, as well as community engagement and public health partners catalyzing Birmingham and Alabama's progression toward the
