HIV in Primary Care (for General Practitioners)

When do you test for HIV and how would you deliver a positive result?

• 50% of the new HIV infections diagnosed each year are done by GPs 
  
• 50% of new HIV diagnoses are by GPs who have not had any recent HIV education

After 15 years of declining rates, in the past decade there has been an increase in new diagnoses of HIV. The majority of HIV diagnoses in Victoria continue to be among men who have sex with men. However, people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, CALD, backgrounds accounted for 24% of HIV notifications across Australia in the period 2004-2008. Modes of transmission in people from CALD backgrounds tend to have higher proportions of heterosexual transmission and consequently higher proportions of women with HIV.

A cross sectional survey of Victorian GPs showed that although GPs had some knowledge of primary risk populations for HIV their knowledge of current HIV epidemiology was limited and that current clinical practices were likely to lead to missed opportunities for HIV/STI testing in MSM and other risk populations. GPs play a major role in the recognition of the need for testing and diagnosis of HIV.

The one day course HIV in Primary Care is designed to introduce GPs to the principles of HIV care including laboratory testing, making a new HIV diagnosis and management of the newly diagnosed patient. This course does not cover the prescribing of HIV s100 drugs; however it is a pre-requisite to the HIV s100 Prescriber Course.

HIV s100 Prescriber Course

This two day course was formerly known as the Short Course in HIV Medicine. Completion of this course and the associated assessment, in conjunction with the HIV in Primary Care for General Practitioners, will allow community based clinicians to prescribe HIV drugs for the management of HIV infection. The course will cover:

• principles of antiretroviral therapy, 
  
• drug classes and the associated toxicities and interactions,
  
• monitoring of patients on antiretroviral therapy,
  
• opportunistic infection
  
• contemporary issues in HIV management.

Please note the HIV in Primary Care course must be completed prior to the prescriber course as part of the eligibility for s100 authorisation

This activity has been approved by the RACGP QI&CPD Program 40 (Category 1) points per day. ACRRM points will be applied for. Each module attracts 2 HIV CME points for current HIV s100 prescribers.

For further information or to obtain a registration form please contact Michelle Wills at GPV on 03 93415226 m.wills@gpv.org.au