Nursing home providers that have residents with HIV may need to take additional steps to ensure they’re getting necessary medications for treatment.
A clinical investigation led by Harvard researchers found that just 63.6% of residents with HIV/AIDS received antiretroviral therapy, a recommended HIV medication. About 15% never received any antiretroviral therapy medications during their nursing home stay.
Researchers said the “reasons are unclear and appear unrelated to economic barriers” as to why people living with HIV in nursing homes don’t always receive antiretroviral therapy.
Data from 694 newly-admitted, long-stay nursing home residents living with HIV from 2011 to 2013 was used for the study. Despite the findings and frequent lack of delivery, each resident had prescription drug coverage through Medicare’s Part D program, and antiretroviral therapy medications were 100% covered.
Nursing home care for people living with HIV has been a previous point of concern. An August report found that people with HIV are generally admitted into lower quality nursing homes when compared to residents without HIV.
The findings were published Thursday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
