Testing and Counseling

Florida continues to lead the nation in the number of HIV tests conducted at over 1,400 publicly funded and registered sites. During 2016, the Counseling, Testing and Linkage (CTL) data team recorded over 360,000 HIV screening tests with about 60% of these tests conducted at sites using rapid test technologies. HIV testing provided in a number of venues—County Health Departments, non-profits community based organizations, jails, hospitals, community health centers, mobile testing units, sexually transmitted disease clinics, outreach events, and other community venues. Testing for HIV is a powerful tool in our prevention arsenal. We know that when a person knows their HIV status they will apply prevention measures with their partners and will enter into medical care and tend to remain in care.

In 2012, Florida’s state laboratories and other private labs changed HIV testing procedures for blood and plasma specimens by upgrading to a 4th generation screening test and replaced Western blot with a newer confirmatory test.  Also, a cutting-edge test that looks for HIV itself, not the antibodies, was added to the procedure for samples that are positive for the 4th generation but not positive on the new confirmatory test.  This new system allows us to find those who have very early HIV infection and gives us the incredible chance to get them into care sooner rather than later and ultimately stop dozens of new HIV infections from happening.

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In 2014, the HIV Counseling and Testing Team began putting our HIV testing and prevention counselor training called HIV/AIDS 500/501 on-line for the general public to access. The HIV/AIDS 500 course is available as a TRAINFlorida on-line course at FDOH HIV/AIDS 500 The Basics of HIV/AIDS Counseling, Testing and Linkage.

The HIV Counseling and Testing Team is public health in motion. Thanks to our numerous test sites, skilled prevention counselors, and progressive laboratory we will continue to move Florida into the next generation and slow this epidemic.

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Testing Program

Forms

• Minimum Standards for HIV Counselors, Trainers and Early Intervention Consultants (IOP 360-07-17)
• Provision of HIV Testing and Linkage (IOP 360-09-17)
• Model Protocol for HIV Counseling and Testing in Healthcare Settings (H.C. Settings)
• Model Protocol for HIV Counseling and Testing in Non-Healthcare Settings (Non H.C. Settings)
• Rapid HIV Testing Site Guidelines-August 2017

Resources
(the following pdf's open in a new window and are under 5mb in size)