HMMP
- Provider
The
MMP is vital to the future of HIV care, treatment, prevention and support
services
Your participation is essential
to the success of this project. Your influence in and knowledge of the
community is an asset to the patients for whom you provide care. Together,
we can gain a better understanding of the ever-changing nature of HIV
infection. Providers and patients can contact their state or local
health department for more information on the MMP. For more information,
go to
www.cdc.gov/hiv/treatment.htm.
Have you heard about the Medical Monitoring Project (MMP)? It’s a survey of the needs and experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. The MMP is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration and your state or local health department. The MMP will help answer important questions about people living with HIV/AIDS, such as:
- How many people are getting medical care for HIV/AIDS?
- How easily can you access and use prevention and support services?
- How is your life affected by HIV drugs and medical care?
- What are your important needs living with HIV?
- Which of your needs related to HIV care and treatment are not being met?
Questions & Answers
- How
are providers and patients chosen?
- Providers and patients are chosen randomly using scientific methods, without names or other identifying information.
- What
is my role as a provider
if selected?
- To assist health department staff gather the information they need to facilitate patient participation in the interview, and encourage patients to participate. By participating, you are representing providers like you who were not selected.
- As
a provider, do I still play a role even if
my facility is not selected during the sampling process?
- Yes, providing your estimated patient load to the health department is an important contribution to the MMP even if you are not selected. Providers may playa role in future project years as a new sample of providers will be selected each year.
- As a
provider, what if I choose not to participate?
- If you choose not to participate, you will be refusing participation for all of your patients. You will not be replaced by another provider in the sample.
- For providers who participate,
how much of their
time will be involved?
- State and local health department staff will conduct all data collection activities so that your staff and services to your patients will not be disrupted.
- How can I be certain that
patients' privacy will be maintained?
- All measures will be taken to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality. Patient, provider and facility names will not be transmitted to the CDC.
- Can patients decline or
withdraw from participating?
- Yes, patients may decline or change their minds about participating at any time. However, patients selected represent other patients in care, so their participation is important.
- Will
patients be compensated for their time?
- Yes, there will be compensation for patients who participate.
Initially, your state or local health department will be contacting you to get an estimate of the number of HIV-positive patients to whom you provided care during the project period. These numbers, along with estimates from other facilities across the 26 participating areas, will be used to draw a random sample of all HIV care providers. Providers that are selected through this process will be contacted by the health department and later, patients will be randomly selected from those providers.
Providing this preliminary information to the health department will assist in characterizing the providers in your area. If you are selected, the HIV-positive community and the community of care providers will benefit by your participation. By participating you will be representing providers similar to you who care for H IV-positive patients. If you are not selected, you will be represented by providers like you. Data collected and outcomes determined from MMP will help to demonstrate how care is impacting the health of people with HIV in your community.
If you choose to participate, state and local health department representatives will conduct all data collection activities so as to not disrupt you, your staff, or services to your patients. Security and confidentiality of personal and health care information will be strictly maintained. Names of participating facilities, providers and patients will not be disclosed to the CDC.
Finally, we need your help to encourage patients to participate. Maximizing participation will increase the likelihood of obtaining information that is truly representative of patients in care for HIV locally and across the US.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPM) of 1996 permits health care providers to disclose protected health information to public health authorities for the purposes of preventing or controlling disease, for example, as part of this public health surveillance project. For more information about HMMP and the MMP or other surveillance projects, please contact your state or local health department.
Project Participation
Maximum provider and patient
participation will increase the likelihood of obtaining information that
is truly representative of patients in care for HIV. The success
of MMP depends on the providers and patients selected to participate.
Providers and patients not selected to participate in the project, you
can still help by encouraging others to participate.
Links