"We want to see if the SBIRT approach will work in this population and this setting to not only reduce drug and alcohol use but also succeed in reducing HIV transmission associated with substance use. We are hoping to find out whether patients are more open to responding to sensitive topics with a self-administered web-based approach than they are talking directly with their clinician," said Carol Dawson-Rose, PhD, MSN, RN, associate professor of nursing at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies.

Both studies use HERO (Health Care Evaluation Record Organizer), a web-based electronic medical record system and research database developed by Kahn and T. Van Nunnery, a programmer/analyst at UCSF, and myHERO. Integrated with HERO, myHERO is a publicly-accessible personal health record enabling patients to access information online from their own medical record. This complete electronic health record system is secure, flexible, extensible, and is exportable to other clinical care venues.

From the first reports of the HIV/AIDS epidemic over 25 years ago, the UCSF Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital has led the world in defining best practices of clinical care in HIV/AIDS medicine.

Source: University of California - San Francisco