ResearchPublications

“In the time of COVID-19, telemedicine in HIV care must first serve the needs of the patient. The necessary growth of telemedicine during a global pandemic must not come at the cost of a patient-centered approach to HIV care, rooted in trust, patient-provider connection, and effective communication. This moment provides a unique opportunity to build a telemedicine model in HIV care that empowers patients. HIV providers should continually appraise their telemedicine programs through patient feedback, focus on increasing access among the most at-risk PLWHA, and consider provider education training on optimal communication to enhance trust and connection. HIV providers and researchers also should provide PLWHA with flexible options that meet their needs, address knowledge/training gaps and improve our HIV care systems. PLWHA with higher medical complexity and who are socially vulnerable – as in our patient case – will continue to be the ones lost to care and excluded from research if the telemedicine system is not designed with them in mind.” (p. 1992).