Private MD News

Groups work to make HIV testing more available

Category: HIV

Many health experts say that making HIV testing a larger part of regular healthcare could be one of the most effective ways to slow the epidemic spread of the disease. However, some lawmakers and care providers have been hesitant to take the steps necessary to make this happen.

While some districts drag their feet on the matter, others are introducing innovative ways to reach out to broader populations to increase the number of people who receive HIV tests.

For example, the District of Columbia recently announced that it will begin offering free HIV/AIDS testing at DMV locations, according to the Washington Post. Officials said that they were planning on taking advantage of the ubiquitous wait times at the DMV.

"We wanted to have a broad audience and a captive audience. You're captive at the DMV," said Angela Fulwood Wood, chief operations officer of the Family and Medical Counseling Service, the nonprofit group offering the testing, quoted by the news source.

There are currently more than 1 million individuals in the U.S. who have HIV, many of whom are unaware that they are infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.