Two blogposts and a feature article days before World AIDS Day posted on behalf of the University of Arizona Division of Infectious Diseases showcase HIV patient care and research innovations in the division and the UA Petersen HIV Clinics at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson and South that it operates via federal grants through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
World AIDS Day, held annually December 1, offers an opportune time to discuss issues related to HIV and update you on how the Division of Infectious Diseases participates in patient care and research to help limit the risks of infection and bring the latest advances in treatment from the lab to the bedside for the benefit of patients and their loved ones.
HIV/AIDS Research
The first blog, “Infectious Diseases Investigators at Forefront of HIV/AIDS Research,” by Lori Fantry, MD, MPH, takes a look at the breadth of research under way in the division. This includes National Institutes of Health-funded work by Elizabeth Connick, MD, division chief, into translational studies on mechanisms that allow HIV to evade T cell defensive responses in hopes of finding a cure. It also includes the NIH-sponsored Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE) and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Knowledge, Attitudes, and Barriers studies, involving Dr. Fantry, Anca Georgescu, MD, and Alyssa Guido, program director of the Arizona AIDS Education & Training Center (AETC), also operated by the division with HHS funding.
HIV Adherence Clinic
The second blog focuses on the “HIV Adherence Clinic” activities hosted through the UA Petersen HIV Clinics and facilitated by pharmacists from the UA College of Pharmacy organized as the TeamRx (T-Rx) Pharmacy Group. This post is co-written by lead clinical pharmacist who founded the clinic in 2014, Connie Chan, PharmD, Kristen Ellis, PharmD, and Larry York, PharmD. Dr. Ellis also coordinates T-Rex outreach efforts such as the Meet-Your-Pharmacist events that serve as lectures and social gatherings for patients, their family and friends, and other interested parties.
EXTRA INFO
The next such T-Rx gathering is hosted by the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF) at the SAAF offices, 375 S. Euclid Ave., in Tucson. The "Holiday Celebration" theme this go round is less lecture and more food, fun and prizes. Learn more, RSVP and add it to your personal schedule here.
This blog offers details on how the Petersen HIV Clinics in cooperation with TeamRx members help coordinate care to keep patients and potential patients informed about how best to manage their medications and ways they can get assistance if they can’t afford them.
ER Solutions for HIV
A third article, ”UA Collaboration Focuses Attention on Emergency HIV At-Risk Patients to Prevent Infection,” recently posted as a “Feature Spotlight” on the UA Department of Medicine website takes a more expansive look at this mission. Written by UANews’ Robin Tricoles, it addresses how the division, the Petersen HIV Clinics work cooperatively with the UA Department of Emergency Medicine to enable Banner – UMC patients to get information and access to medications—pre-exposure prophylaxis treatment (PrEP) or post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)—that can prevent HIV infection or to better manage their care.
About the DOM Blog
The DOM Blog, begun in November 2015, offers an opportunity for faculty and staff at the UA Department of Medicine to underscore the work they’re doing to enhance patient care, improve medical education or advance research in an effort to expand our understanding of disease and develop new medical therapies or devices that promise relief—if not a cure—for our patients, their families and friends. These are the fundamental blocks that define the mission of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson.
To offer feedback or suggest a topic for a future blogpost, please contact David Mogollon, UA Department of Medicine, dmogollon@deptofmed.arizona.edu or (520) 626-1137.
ALSO SEE:
"New Websites Launched for UA Division of Infectious Diseases, Petersen HIV Clinics" | Posted Sept. 27, 2017
"Pima County Fair, Bisbee Pride to Host Petersen HIV Clinics Awareness Outreach" | Posted April 19, 2017
“UA Infectious Diseases Experts to Collaborate on National Effort to Develop HIV Cure” | Posted July 13, 2016
"Pharm Alumna Plays Central Role in Award-Winning HIV Clinic" | Posted May 15, 2016
“New UA Chief of Infectious Diseases Has Long History of Novel Research into HIV, AIDS Prevention” | Posted Jan. 20, 2016
"HIV Care at UA Petersen Clinics Rated Among Best in Nation" | Posted July 9, 2015