Do Nurse Practitioners Deliver? A Retrospective Self-audit Comparing Nurse Practitioner Care for People With HIV in Australia to Screening and Monitoring Guidelines.

Abstract

Abstract: In Australia, nurse practitioners (NPs) provide care to people with HIV (PWH) in hospital and community settings. We describe a national audit evaluating NP care for PWH, assessing adherence to 2 HIV monitoring guidelines. Five NPs conducted a retrospective case note self-audit. Deidentified data were collected, pooled, and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and compared with HIV monitoring guideline targets. The review was undertaken for 212 NP patients, the majority being cisgendered men (86%), ages 45-49 years, identifying as gay (65%). The majority (95%) of PWH were on an appropriate HIV treatment, meeting the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS target of 95%. HIV viral load testing was current for 211 (99%) individuals. Of 138 individuals eligible for cardiovascular screening, 84 (60%) were screened, below a guideline target of 90%. Compliance with HIV monitoring guidelines exceeded targets in most areas. Our audit demonstrates that NPs provide effective and guideline compliant HIV care to PWH in Australia.