Amerinet has partnered with St Barnabas Hospital and OraSure Technologies to implement a program to care and empower HIV positive people to change their behavior to minimize the risk of further transmission.
St Barnabas Hospital, by leveraging Amerinet supplier OraSure Technologies, utilises the OraQuick Advance rapid HIV-1/2 antibody test to test patients across the hospital including the ER, ambulatory care and inpatient departments and four clinic sites.
The US Food and Drug Administration had approved oral fluid test, OraQuick Advance, which provides patients with HIV testing without the need for blood or needles and presents the results in 20 minutes.
OraSure Technologies corporate communications senior vice president Ron Ticho said that OraQuick Advance enables St Barnabas to screen patients for HIV using oral fluid and provide the patient with the results in 20 minutes.
“The combination is powerful, as it not only increases the total number of people willing to be tested, but it also ensures patients receive their results. This powerful combination allows St Barnabas to link a large percentage of HIV positive patients to care,” Ticho said.
St Barnabas Hospital director of HIV Services Ralph Belloise said that the organisation has embraced the concept of routine testing and created a culture that supports implementation of the program, allowing them to increase testing access for Bronx residents.