Retail large Walmart and MISTR, a telemedicine supplier providing free on-line STI testing, PrEP, DoxyPEP and long-term HIV care, have launched a pilot program providing free at-home HIV testing kits to prospects from seven Walmart shops in Georgia.
The assessments require a finger prick. Step-by-step directions and an educational video are included in every package to make sure every check is completed accurately.
The pilot program will final till provides final. To begin, round 3,000 kits can be out there at every location.
“The thought is to supply these free HIV check kits indefinitely, assuming there’s demand,” Tristan Schukraft, founder and CEO of MISTR, instructed MobiHealthNews through e-mail. “By providing at-home HIV check kits to individuals without cost, we’re enabling them to check on their very own time, within the consolation and privateness of their very own houses.”
Past that, MISTR is taking issues one step additional by giving them entry to free therapy and follow-up care by the corporate’s telehealth platform ought to there be a optimistic end result.
“The final word purpose of providing free HIV check kits through Walmart is to assist cease the HIV epidemic,” Schukraft stated. “We’d like to run out of check kits on day one, however our final purpose is to eradicate HIV in Atlanta and all through the nation.”
He stated individuals want entry to those assessments in rural areas the place it’s arduous to get to a clinic, and Walmart is a perfect accomplice for offering simply that.
“It is necessary to succeed in all communities, and Walmart is properly positioned in rural areas the place entry to free HIV testing is usually not out there, and/or sufferers really feel uncomfortable in search of an HIV check from an area supplier in a tight-knit neighborhood,” he stated.
THE LARGER TREND
Georgia has one of many highest charges within the nation for brand new HIV transmissions.
The CDC recommends that everybody aged 13 to 64 be examined for HIV a minimum of as soon as as a part of routine well being care and a minimum of yearly for these at greater danger.
Among the many 2 million individuals with HIV within the U.S., an estimated 13% have no idea they’re dwelling with HIV, and this share accounts for almost 40% of latest transmissions.
Consciousness of HIV standing permits those that are optimistic to interact in HIV therapy, which optimizes well being outcomes, reduces viral load (the quantity of virus within the physique) and prevents transmission.
