To document the cost of implementing point-of-care (POC)
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rapid testing in busy community pharmacies
and retail clinics. Providing HIV testing services in community pharmacies and
retail clinics is an innovative way to expand HIV testing. The cost of
implementing POC HIV rapid testing in a busy retail environment needs to be
documented to provide program and policy leaders with adequate information for
planning and budgeting.
Cost analysis from a pilot project that provided
confidential POC HIV rapid testing services in community pharmacies and retail
clinics.
The pharmacy sites were operated under several different
ownership structures (for-profit, nonprofit, sole proprietorship, corporation,
public, and private) in urban and rural areas. We included data from the
initial six sites that participated in the project. We collected the time spent
by pharmacy and retail clinic staff for pretest and posttest counseling in an
activity log for time-in-motion for each interaction.
The total cost was calculated to include costs of test kits,
control kits, shipping, test supplies, training, reporting, program administration,
and advertising.
The six sites trained 22 staff to implement HIV testing.
- A
total of 939 HIV rapid tests were conducted over a median time of 12 months, of
which 17 were reactive.
- Median pretest counseling time was 2 minutes.
- Median posttest counseling time was 2 minutes for clients with a
nonreactive test and 10 minutes for clients with a reactive test.
- The average
cost per person tested was an estimated $47.21.
- When we considered only
recurrent costs, the average cost per person tested was $32.17.
Providing POC HIV rapid testing services required a modest
amount of staff time and costs that are comparable to other services offered in
these settings.
HIV testing in pharmacies and retail clinics can provide an
additional alternative venue for increasing the availability and accessibility
of HIV testing services in the United States.
- 1Department of Infectious Diseases, Crosshouse University Hospital, Kilmarnock, UK.
- 2Infectious Diseases Unit, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
- 3Department of Internal Medicine, Puerta de Hierro Research Institute & University Hospital, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
- 4Department of Internal Medicine, La Luz Clinic, Madrid, Spain.
