Barriers and facilitators to testing in primary care among health care providers

Purpose: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a preventable disease that can have improved outcomes with early diagnosis and treatment. The CDC recommends that HIV testing be incorporated into clinical settings as part of routine medical care. Methods: Individual, open-ended interviews were conducted with primary care providers and administrators to obtain their views regarding the meaning of routine HIV testing and the barriers and facilitators to implementing routine HIV testing in their respective practices. Results: Most respondents supported routine HIV testing, although their definitions of routine varied. Barriers for providers included time and financial constraints to appropriately conduct HIV counseling and testing and inadequate HIV education and training. Facilitators for implementing routine HIV testing included patients' feelings of empowerment and reduced HIV stigma. Conclusions: The implementation of routine HIV testing in primary care practices appears to be an acceptable public health intervention. Next steps should include efforts to standardize the definition of routine HIV testing and working with primary care settings to better understand and reduce barriers to routine testing.