HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service

Other important documents in HSTAT include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference Reports and Technology Assessment Reports the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) resource documents the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (SAMHSA/CSAT) Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIP) and Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMHSA/CSAP) Prevention Enhancement Protocols System (PEPS) the Public Health Service (PHS) Preventive Services Task Force s Guide to Clinical Preventive Services the independent, nonfederal Task Force on Community Services Guide to Community Preventive Services and the Health Technology Advisory Committee (HTAC) of the Minnesota Health Care Commission (MHCC) health technology evaluations. 

States should enact legislation to provide for. .. safe and effective medication at an affordable price. States should also take measures necessary to ensure for all persons, on a sustained and equal basis, the availability and accessibility of quality goods, services and information for HIV/AIDS. .. treatment..., including antiretroviral and other safe and effective medicines, diagnostics and related technologies for preventive, curative and palliative care of HIV/AIDS and related opportunistic infections and conditions. (UNCHR/UNAIDS 2003)... 

Two major panels of experts publish guidelines for the treatment of HIV-infected individuals. Although the recommendations are quite similar, slight differences do exist between the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Guidelines2 and the International AIDS Society-USA (IAS-USA) Panel Recommendations.4 The DHHS Guidelines are updated every 6 months and current and archived versions are available online at www.aidsinfo.nih.gov. The IAS-USA Guidelines were last updated in 2006, and in 2004 prior to that revision. Due to the intense research and constant modifications to therapeutic approaches in the treatment of HIV, the majority of the treatment algorithms and recommendations presented herein follow the most up-to-date information found in the DHHS recommendations. 

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