Hospital Use by Persons With HIV in the 21st Century: A 5-State Study.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to determine whether reductions in hospital utilization observed immediately after the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (between 1995 and 2000) have persisted into the 21st century.

DATA SOURCES

Data on all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related hospital admissions in 5 states (California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina) in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2013 were obtained from the State Inpatient Database, which is administered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In addition, data on the number of persons living with HIV were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from the California Department of Public Health.

STUDY DESIGN

This study compares the average number of hospitalizations per person living with HIV in each of the 5 states as well as the average cost for hospital care per person with HIV in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2013.

RESULTS

The total number of hospitalizations by persons with HIV in the 5 study states fell by one third between 2000 and 2013 even though the number of persons living with HIV increased by >50%.

CONCLUSIONS

Persons with HIV disease were 64% less likely to be hospitalized in 2013 than they were in 2000. In addition, the probability of a person with HIV being hospitalized fell 44% between 2000 and 2010 and 29% between 2010 and 2013.