More than 12,000 people in Indiana are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) – the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The numbers are also staggering for other STDs and viral hepatitis. Each year hundreds of new HIV infections are reported in Indiana.
Early identification and treatment of these types of diseases is essential to curing or at least managing them so that patients can continue to live fully. It is also vital to decreasing the spread of these diseases to others. Talk with your care team to learn more.
Eskenazi Health Center Routine HIV Screening
Eskenazi Health Center recommends and provides routine HIV screening at all primary care locations to patients between the ages of 13 and 64 who have not been screened in the past 12 months. Patients receive their test results before they leave their appointment. For those newly diagnosed, we offer immediate linkage to care in the Infectious Diseases Clinic.
Free At-Home Testing Kits Available to Order
Eskenazi Health Center has partnered with Building Healthy Online Communities and TakeMeHome to offer patients an easy and confidential way to order at-home testing kits online. The current test available to order is a PrEP Panel Test. Eskenazi Health Center patients can visit takemehome.org, simply enter their ZIP code, confirm they are an Eskenazi Health Center patient and submit additional information in order to receive a free, at-home testing kit to their address.
TakeMeHome is designed for people who have not had a recent HIV test or who are interested in starting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The TakeMeHome website is easy to use and is available in both English and Spanish.
Once a patient completes their at-home testing kit and mails in their specimens using prepaid packaging, the patient and Eskenazi Health Center staff will have access to view the results from the testing kit. Team members then enter the results into the patient’s medical record and can connect the patient to a provider if they are eligible to start PrEP. Learn more about PrEP (PrEP en español).