Recipients in need of ancillary services and their receipt of HIV medical care in California

For many individuals with access to quality medical care, HIV disease is no longer a critical short term illness but a chronic condition giving rise to more clients requiring ongoing medical care. Programs funded by the federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act not only provide essential medical care for these individuals but also facilitate access to medical care services. These programmes fund services, including case management, transportation, and translation assistance, that feature ongoing assistance and enable individuals to remain in the health care system. Because of the importance of maintaining the strict drug regimen, retention in care is also an important part of the overall HIV care component. This study analyzed the relationship of ancillary services and a federal health programme client's receipt of medical care and retention in the health care system. We defined a cohort in need of ancillary services in part by a questionnaire designed to identify factors relating to need. These factors included education, language, and substance use. By merging client level data files we were able to identify medical service utilization trends among the individuals in the cohort who received a high number of ancillary services (more than 11 ancillary service visits in the two-year study period, n = 138) and those who received few services (fewer than six ancillary service visits in the two-year study period, n = 132). Results suggest that the receipt of ancillary services is associated with receipt of and retention in primary medical care. We found that for federal health programme clients in need of ancillary services, a positive relationship existed between their receipt of ancillary services and their access to primary medical care (p </= 0.001). This observation held constant when age, race, gender, and insurance coverage were controlled for. Also, these clients were more likely to be seen by a medical doctor at least once in three consecutive six-month periods when they received needed ancillary services (p </= 0.01).