The overall goal of the RAPID (Rapid ART Program Initiative for HIV Diagnoses) program is to create a set of “hubs” around the city where persons newly diagnosed with HIV (or out of care) can rapidly access antiretroviral therapy (ART) and have a smooth transition to their medical home. In order to accomplish this goal, a RAPID steering committee established hub locations, standard operating procedure (SOP) for ART start, and SOP for transition to a primary medical home. The committee works with SF Department of Public Health surveillance (now “ARCHES”) to track the uptake and outcomes of persons participating in the program. We build on the existing LINCS programs at SFDPH to create and support hubs for rapid initiation of ART to individuals.
We start ART:
Within 48 hours –
- If acute/early infection (recent negative Ab test, RNA+/Ab– or recent symptoms of acute retroviral syndrome) or
- Evidence of advanced infection (opportunistic infection or a CD4 count of less than 200)
Within 5 days –
- All other newly HIV-diagnosed persons
The program aims to provide ART for up to 5 days for these individuals until they are transitioned into their medical home.
RAPID Resources
RAPID News & Updates
Study Finds PrEP Use Feasible among High-Risk Groups in U.S. Community Settings
Most Participants in NIH-Funded Study Adhered to HIV Prevention Strategy A majority of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) at high risk for HIV infection took anti-HIV medication for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), most of the time, in a multi-site U.S. study examining use of this HIV prevention strategy outside of…
SF Examiner: SF records all-time low in HIV infections, deaths
Read the full article here. See the Getting to Zero presentation to the Health Commission here.
Getting to Zero HIV in Thailand: Is It Possible?
Getting to Zero HIV in Thailand: Is It Possible? By Austin Padilla Over 30 years have passed since the first reported infection of HIV in Thailand and the Southeast Asian nation still reports over 10,000 new HIV infections annually. Different geographic regions of Thailand have felt different impacts of the HIV epidemic, but leaders in…
6.11.15 Consortium Meeting Agenda, Slides, Discussion Notes
June 11th, 2015 the Getting to Zero Consortium met at 25 S. Van Ness. The slide presentations are below. Here is the agenda, as guide. Notes from the group discussion are collated here: 6.11.15XGroupXDiscussionXNotesXG2ZXConsortiumXMeeting. Consortium update: Diane Havlir Website Launch: Shannon Weber Committee Reports RAPID: Oliver Bacon Retention: Edwin Charlebois PrEP: Al Liu Ending Stigma: Austin Padilla Community Presentations…