Fact Sheet 202CHOOSING AN HIV CARE PROVIDER
WHY IS CHOOSING
AN HIV CARE PROVIDER IMPORTANT?
Treating HIV disease is very complicated. There are choices to
consider at every stage of the disease. It's best if you and your
health care provider work together as a team. That makes it
easier to choose and stick to your treatment plan. "Care
provider" means a doctor, a physician's assistant, or a nurse
practitioner.
There are several issues you may want to consider in choosing
an HIV care provider. You might decide to have them be your
"regular doctor" for all of your health issues. You might use a
different care provider for most health issues and use your HIV
provider as a specialist. If your regular provider isn't an HIV
specialist, be sure they regularly get expert advice on HIV
issues.
TRAINING AND
EXPERIENCE
Many people with HIV/AIDS get their care from physicians who are
specialists in infectious diseases. However, especially now that
people are living longer with HIV, it's important to deal with
all of your health issues. You might prefer to have a family
practitioner or a specialist in internal medicine as your primary
physician.
No matter what their specialty, you will get better HIV care
from providers who have experience treating people at all stages
of HIV disease. Be sure to ask how many patients with HIV they
have treated, and how many they currently see. HIV patients do
better when their physicians have more experience treating HIV
disease.
DO YOU HAVE
SIMILAR IDEAS ABOUT TREATING HIV?
Some providers are conservative. They prefer "tried and true"
methods. Others are more aggressive. They are willing to try new
and experimental treatments. Some are optimistic by nature, and
focus on the hopeful or positive side when they talk about test
results or future prospects. Others are more realistic. Some are
pessimistic.
Some providers are comfortable suggesting "complementary and
alternative" therapies such as massage, acupuncture, or herbs.
Others stick strictly to western medicine.
If you want a lot of emotional support, you probably won't be
comfortable with a health care provider who only talks about test
results. The more comfortable you are with their approach to HIV
treatments, the easier it will be for you to get the kind of
health care you want. Talk to providers and their patients before
you make your choice.
THE PROVIDER - PATIENT RELATIONSHIP
Many patients do better when they take
an active role in planning their own health care. These patients
do a lot of reading on their own, and bring information to their
providers. They work together to make health care decisions.
Other patients are more comfortable with the provider making
important decisions. Decide how you want to work with your
provider. See if that fits with the way the provider likes to
work with patients.
HELP YOUR
PROVIDER HELP YOU
Make sure that your provider has all the information needed to
give the best advice about your treatment. This starts with your
medical records, which may have to be transferred from another
office. When you start working with a new provider, they will
probably do a lot of tests to collect "baseline" information.
This helps you see how well you're doing as time goes by.
Be sure your provider knows how you feel about using
medications, and about your illness. Some people don't mind
taking a lot of pills. Other people would rather take as few as
possible. Your provider should also know about other treatments
you are using or want to try, including non-medical ones.
Be honest about your lifestyle. Your eating, sleeping, and
work patterns can make a difference for your health care. So can
your sexual practices and use of recreational drugs. If your
provider seems too judgmental, try to change providers. It's
better to have provider who really knows you instead of holding
back information.
Let your provider know about the important people in your
life: the people who will support you if you get sick, or will
help you make important medical decisions.
AVAILABILITY
The best care provider won't do you any good if you can't get in
to see them. Ask them (or their receptionist) how long it usually
takes to get an appointment. Find out how well they usually stay
on schedule during the day.
The type of insurance you have could limit your choice of a
provider. Maybe the provider isn't on the list for your health
maintenance organization (HMO) or insurance plan. Be sure to find
out how you will be able to pay for their services.
Remember, you don't need an HIV specialist to help you with
most of your health care needs. If a good HIV provider is hard to
find, or if it's hard to get an appointment, use a non-HIV care
provider for your general health care. Just be sure that when you
are dealing with HIV issues, you see an experienced HIV provider,
or one who consults with an expert in HIV.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Some people are very concerned about keeping their HIV status
private. You might choose to get your HIV care from a provider in
another town to protect your privacy. You will need to find your
own balance between confidentiality and convenience.
CHANGING
PROVIDERS
Your health care needs might change as time goes by. Also, your
ideas about treatment could change. Although you will probably
get better medical care from a provider who has known you for a
long time, you always have the right to stop seeing one provider
and change to another.
TO FIND A
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
You can get help finding a care provider from your case manager
or from your local Department of Health. You can also ask other
people living with HIV.
THE BOTTOM
LINE
HIV medical care is very complicated, and changes quickly. This
makes it important to find an HIV care provider who works with
HIV/AIDS patients and is committed to staying up to date. Your
relationship with an HIV provider will be better if you are
comfortable with each other's personal style and approach to
dealing with health issues in general, and HIV in particular.
This Fact Sheet is sponsored by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA).
Back to Index of Fact Sheets
|
|
The New Mexico AIDS InfoNet is a project of the New
Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center at the University of New Mexico Health
Sciences Center. |
|
|
Partially funded by the National Library of Medicine |
|