Costs and effectiveness of partner counseling and referral services with rapid testing for HIV in Colorado and Louisiana, United States.

OBJECTIVE

Health departments offer partner counseling and referral services (PCRS) to HIV-infected index patients and their partners. Point-of-care rapid HIV testing makes it possible for partners of index patients to learn their HIV serostatus in nonclinical settings.

STUDY DESIGN

We assessed costs and effectiveness of PCRS with rapid HIV testing in Colorado and Louisiana (April 2004-January 2006). Colorado provided PCRS to the index patients and partners statewide; Louisiana provided PCRS to those in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The key effectiveness measures were number of partners tested and number of partners informed of a new HIV diagnosis after rapid testing. We obtained program costs for personnel, travel, utilities, supplies, equipment, and facility space.

RESULTS

Colorado identified a yearly average of 328 index patients and 253 partners and tested 43 partners. Louisiana identified a yearly average of 81 index patients and 138 partners and tested 83 partners. The rates of previously undiagnosed HIV infection among partners tested were 6.6% in Colorado and 9.9% in Louisiana. The average costs per partner tested and per partner informed of a new HIV diagnosis were $1459 and $22,243 in Colorado and $714 and $7231 in Louisiana.

CONCLUSIONS

Program costs varied substantially by location. Our analysis helps program managers and health care providers to understand the resources needed for implementing the PCRS in diverse settings.