HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, people in Los Angeles County have increased access to health insurance and health services through public and private providers. While DHSP continues to fund and coordinate the HIV-related services funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration, there is an increased number of people who access HIV services through other federally and state funded and private systems. To achieve the goals of the Ending the HIV Epidemic Plan there needs to be a full picture of the services delivered and better coordination across healthcare systems. It is vital to have active participation and collaboration from a range of providers across health sectors, including: insurance providers, Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers, pharmaceutical companies, medical groups, and private medical providers.
The single most impactful action will be the sharing of data across systems. Without complete information, we cannot properly measure the full scope of testing, PrEP, treatment, or viral load suppression in the County.
You might identify one, a few, or many actions that you can take on from the suggestions below; every contribution to this collective work matters.
- Share data with DHSP and other appropriate healthcare systems to properly measure progress towards LACHAS indicators and have a more coordinated response.
- Adopt and disseminate service standards and best practices developed by the Commission on HIV and DHSP.
- Monitor and address disparities in access to medical services for communities most impacted by the epidemic, in particular people of color, youth, and transgender people.
- Increase awareness and uptake of PrEP and PEP by disseminating lessons learned from existing services and implementation research within your system and to your patients
- Participate and contribute to the efforts of the health districts you serve to achieve the goals of the Strategy.
- Reduce structural barriers within your system for people to navigate health care.
- Support and strengthen integrated and patient-centered HIV and related screening (e.g. substance use, mental health, IPV) and linkage to basic services (e.g. housing, education, employment).
