Open Door Health is helping Rhode Island get to Zero new HIV Infections with Innovative and Novel Screening Practices
At a 3,000 square foot clinic on the upper south side of Providence, some of the state’s most novel and innovative clinical HIV prevention methods are standard practice and part of everyday care of patients. Open Door Health, a Rhode Island Public Health Institute initiative, is Rhode Island’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ primary care and sexual health clinic. Open Door Health provides primary care, gender affirming care, and sexual health services.
Last year, Open Door Health diagnosed approximately 10% of the state’s new HIV infections, a large percentage for a clinic that has seen about 4,500 patients since it opened in March 2020. When asked how the team is able to diagnose so many cases, Dr. Amy Nunn, executive director of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute, attributes it to the routinization of HIV testing that Open Door Health has put into practice.
“Everyone who walks into Open Door Health for screening of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is offered an HIV test. Our providers incorporate screening into their patients’ primary care visits. The CDC has recommended routine HIV screening for over a decade now, and we are proud that we’ve made HIV prevention a core part of the work we do.”
Open Door Health operates an express, walk-in STI clinic five days a week. No appointment is necessary. After filling out an intake form at a kiosk in the waiting room or using a QR code to complete on their phone, patients collect several of their own samples without the need of a medical provider before seeing a phlebotomist for a quick blood draw. Based on the screening questions and if a patient is not displaying any symptoms of an STI, they are able to leave without waiting to see a provider. Patients with symptoms who need to see a provider can do so on the same day without appointments.
“The entire STI screening process was designed to be a fast and efficient experience for patients,” says Dr. Nunn. “We’ve removed some the barriers that exist in many other clinical settings as a way to encourage sexually active people to get screened regularly. We screen several hundred patients for HIV and STIs each month.”
Open Door Health is also committed to the prevention of HIV and runs a large, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program. PrEP is a once daily medication that is very effective in preventing HIV infection and should be considered for people who are not in a monogamous relationship with an HIV negative person. Open Door Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Philip Chan, MD says “Many people may underestimate their risk of HIV infection. Our clinic offers a sex-positive, affirming environment for our patients. More than 1,000 patients have been prescribed PrEP through Open Door Health.”
Open Door Health offers the latest in HIV care and treatment and is partially funded by the Ryan White program through the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. HIV treatment at Open Door Health includes antiretroviral therapy and navigation services. “The goal is to de-stigmatize HIV and help all people with HIV live a normal and healthy life. People who are on antiretroviral therapy and have an undetectable viral load have a normal life expectancy and don’t transmit HIV to their partners,” said Dr. Chan.
The organization’s HIV-focused work started long before the clinic officially opened in March of 2020; Dr. Nunn and Dr. Chan have spent much of their careers working within HIV prevention and treatment. They started Open Door Health together to provide innovative HIV and primary health care services. For them, World AIDS Day is a time to reflect on people that we’ve lost, as well as all the progress we’ve made. Dr. Nunn noted “It’s amazing that we can both prevent and treat HIV for most people with only one pill per day. We are delighted to be able to offer prevention and care services that are culturally tailored to Rhode Island’s diverse community.”