U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Indian Health Service: The Federal Health Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives
IHS HIV/AIDS Program
Questions or comments

CAPT Scott Giberson
National HIV Principal Consultant

IHS Headquarters Reyes Building
Suite 304B
Rockville, MD 20852

301-443-4644
301-594-6213 (fax)

Site Administrator

Link to AIDS.gov

The IHS Minority AIDS Inititative (MAI)

FY06 Initiatives (ongoing)

Behavioral Health Trainings

Developed for I/T/U professional staff and healthcare workers. The first years funding (FY05) was awarded to work in collaboration with Urban Indian programs to provide three HIV/AIDS behavioral health focused regional trainings.  These occurred in Oklahoma, San Francisco and Phoenix.  Our goal was to train 90 participants. We exceeded the goal and totaled 156 attendees at 3 events.  The trainings have developed a unique and distinctly native approach to support the regional trainings executed. A critical component to the training was the addition of traditional healers who presented a two hour session each day to discuss cultural and traditional practices with HIV/AIDS and who are currently working with HIV/AIDS patients.

The current contract from FY06 funds has been designated for 5 regional trainings to also be focused on front line providers, tribal, urban and tribal organizations including Community Health Representatives (CHR) and other healthcare workers. Each training will allow for 20-25 full scholarships for providers to attend.  Throughout calendar year 2006 and 2007, training will be executed in the critical IHS Areas of Minneapolis (Dec 06), Nashville (2/06), Albuquerque (4/06), Anchorage (5/06) and Portland (Aug 07).

Office of Information Technology (OIT)

The HIV Management System (HMS) is one of several Clinical Decision Software applications in development. The need for an IT solution had previously been identified in the field and a workgroup of subject matter experts was formed. Requirements were written and an early decision was made to develop the application in phases. The first phase would address the providers’ stated need for a way to identify and proactively manage their HIV/AIDS patients. The second phase would also identify patients who are “At Risk” for developing the disease. Experience gained from the development of other clinical decision software applications guided the workgroup in their approach to the design of HMS.

The HIV Management System (HMS) application provides clinical providers and case managers with a tool to help proactively manage the care of their patients who have either been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS or who have been identified as being “At Risk” for this disease. Providers utilizing this application may benefit from provider guidelines regarding assessment and treatment as well as a variety of reports including: a Quality of Care Audit Report and a Due/Overdue Report. Several HMS specific reminders regarding a variety of lab tests, exams, immunizations and screenings will be generated for patients active on the HMS register. Users are able to easily navigate between HMS, other RPMS applications and PCC in order to view various patient specific data files enabling more efficient outcomes.

The increased deployment and training of the HMS application will give I/T/U providers appropriate assistance in managing their HIV patients’ care. Professional evaluation of this application is vital to its continued usefulness; based on this evaluation, a second version will be developed. The feedback from the field will ensure OIT’s ability to continue to meet the needs of our user population. We believe that through the use of this application, HIV patients will be managed more effectively and efficiently and as a result will receive improved quality of care. We expect to be able to identify the “At Risk” population more efficiently by tracking other related conditions, increased surveillance and reports. It is through this early identification process that we will be able to provide appropriate counseling and preventive care to the individual. We anticipate an increase in the number and geographic locations of providers who are able to deliver the highest quality health care to the widely disbursed and highly mobile American Indian and Alaska Native patient population living with HIV/AIDS.

The HIV Center of Excellence (CoE) - Phoenix Indian Medical Center

Created an HIV/AIDS telemedicine support network for health care providers in Indian Health Service, Tribal and Urban settings. The objectives of this initiative are to expand the quality and availability of HIV/AIDS communication, training, support, and expert consultation through the use of telemedicine technology for health care providers in Indian Health Service, Tribal, and Urban (I/T/U) settings.

IHS Division of Epidemiology

(1) Development of a national “early warning” system to detect rapid increases in the rate of HIV infection among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations throughout the country. This initiative aims to enhance and improve screening for HIV in prenatal populations in a statistically-representative sample of IHS facilities from which data are collected electronically. (2) Development of integrated screening and surveillance in highest-risk AI/AN populations through enhancement of existing Viral Hepatitis Integration Project (VHIP). The initiative seeks to = enhance screening and surveillance for HIV, STDs, and viral hepatitis (types A, B, and C) by supporting programs that deliver integrated services (risk factor assessment, testing, risk factor modification counseling, post-test counseling, and vaccination) to at-risk AI/AN clients.

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