Background

HIV care is complex and rapidly evolving. To meet the needs of people living with HIV, antiretroviral therapy (ART) must be effective, safe, well-tolerated, and affordable. Treatment must also be easy-to-use for people with coinfections and comorbidities and the elderly. The systematic use of more potent and lower-cost drugs that meet these conditions enables clinicians to extend lifesaving treatment to a greater number of people living with HIV. Furthermore, advances in ART and a better understanding of drug resistance have made it possible to consider switching a person living with HIV from one regimen to another for various reasons. When considering such a switch, clinicians must keep several key principles in mind to maintain viral suppression while addressing the concerns with the current antiretroviral (ARV) regimen.

 

Program

Optimizing HIV Clinical Management will provide an overview of current evidence-based treatment strategies and interventions to optimize the HIV care continuum for people living with HIV. The educational content is provided to clinicians through a webinar delivered across four modules.

  1. The first module addresses strategies for integrating non-oral ARV formulations into clinical practice, including topics such as clinician/patient hesitancy and promoting ART adherence.
  2. The second module addresses pros and cons of switching ARV regimens in virally suppressed patients with a focus on two-drug regimens and effective clinician/patient dialogue about potent ART to achieve undetectable equals untransmittable, or U=U.
  3. The third module addresses ARV drug regimen selection criteria for patients with comorbidities and integrated management of concomitant cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension.
  4. The fourth module addresses the impact of HIV on chronic inflammation and the management of age-related comorbidities and frailty.

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of HIV care providers and other healthcare professionals providing HIV care and treatment such as physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.

 

Accreditation 

 

Planning Committee

This educational activity was developed by a course director and an activity manager:

Course Director: Christopher Duncombe, MD, AM (International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Washington, DC, USA)
Activity Manager: Jonathon Hess, MPA, LLM (International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Washington, DC, USA)
Activity Coordinator: John Charles (International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Tampa, FL, USA)

 

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this activity, learners should be able to:

  1. Understand strategies for integrating non-oral ARV formulations into clinical practice
  2. Identify pros and cons of switching ARV regimens in virally suppressed patients
  3. Describe ARV drug regimen selection criteria and integrated management for patients with comorbidities
  4. Recognize the impact of HIV on chronic inflammation and the management of age-related comorbidities and frailty

 

Accreditation Statements

Physicians

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care.

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

 

Nurses

Education Review Systems is an approved approver of continuing nursing education by the Alabama State Nursing Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (Provider # 5-115).

This program is approved for a maximum of 1.50 hours of continuing nursing education. Educational Review Systems is also approved for nursing continuing education by the State of California, the State of Florida, and the District of Columbia.

 

Disclosure

This activity is supported through educational grants from Gilead Sciences and Merck & Co. The content for this activity was developed by and reflects the views of the activity’s planners, not those of the commercial entities providing educational grants.

 

Resource Materials

Following are useful resources to contextualize this activity’s content:

What to Start: Initial Combination Antiretroviral Regimens for People with HIV. HHS Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents Living with HIV.

Optimizing Antiretroviral Therapy in the Setting of Viral Suppression. HHS Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents Living with HIV.

Switching or Simplifying Antiretroviral Therapy. National HIV Curriculum, University of Washington.

Laboratory Testing for Initial Assessment and Monitoring of People with HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy. HHS Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents Living with HIV.

Drug-Resistance Testing. HHS Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents Living with HIV.

Antiretroviral Therapy to Prevent Sexual Transmission of HIV (Treatment as Prevention). HHS Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents Living with HIV.

Drug-Drug Interactions. HHS Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents Living with HIV.

U=U in Clinical Practice. International Association of Providers of AIDS Care.

 

Course Content

This activity’s four modules are covered in the course content link below, which should be fully reviewed prior to completing the knowledge assessment. If you encounter any issues, please contact Jonathon Hess, MPA, LLM, IAPAC Senior Director of Education, at jhess@iapac.org.

 

Knowledge Assessments

This activity has two knowledge assessments. The first assessment requires completing 10 multiple choice questions covering topics covered in the activity’s four modules and must be completed following the activity’s completion to claim 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. A second case study-based assessment will be emailed to activity participants two months post-activity along with guidance regarding how to claim an additional 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.