Using a report card to increase HIV screening in a large primary care group practice

Abstract

Background: Despite increased efforts to promote HIV screening, a large proportion of the US population have never been tested for HIV. Objective: To determine whether provider education and personalised HIV screening report cards can increase HIV screening rates within a large integrated healthcare system. Design: This quality improvement study provided a cohort of primary care physicians (PCPs) a brief educational intervention and personalised HIV screening report cards with quarterly performance data. Participants: Participants included a volunteer cohort of 20 PCPs in the department of adult and family medicine. Main measures: Per cent of empaneled patients screened for HIV by cohort PCPs compared with PCPs at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center (KPOAK) and the non-Oakland Medical Centers in Northern California region (Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC)). Key results: Of the 20 participating PCPs, 13 were female and 7 were male. Thirteen were internal medicine and seven family medicine physicians. The average age was 40 years and average practice experience was 9 years after residency. During the 12-month intervention, the estimated increase in HIV screening in the cohort PCP group was 2.6% as compared with 1.9% for KPOAK and 1.8% for KPNC. Conclusions: These findings suggest that performance-related report cards are associated with modestly increased rates of HIV screening by PCPs.