Resources for Healthcare Providers

The CDC HIV Nexus is a one-stop location for information across the HIV continuum, including up-to-date tools and guidelines for healthcare practices and educational materials for patients.

• Screening for HIV: Find tools and resources about HIV screening for providers, including the benefits of routine screening and how to discuss sexual health during the visit.
• Preventing New HIV Infections: Access information on HIV prevention strategies and tools, including information about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
• Treatment, Care, and Prevention for People with HIV: Find resources to support HIV treatment, care, and prevention at your practice including campaign materials and continuing medical education resources.
• Healthcare Delivery for Transgender Persons: Access resources on the delivery of patient-centered HIV care for transgender people.

CDC develops a variety of resources for health care providers through its Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign.  Examples of campaign resources are included below. For a complete listing of campaign resources, please visit the Let’s Stop HIV Together webpage.

• Campaign Brochures
  • HIV Screening. Standard Care: A Guide for Primary Care Providers
  • Prescribe HIV Prevention: FAQs for the Healthcare Professional
  • A Guide for the Healthcare Professional: Discussing Sexual Health with Your Patients
• Campaign Fact Sheets
  • HIV Testing for Pregnant Women and Newborns
  • When Pregnant Patients are Unsure About HIV Screening

CDC and other organizations provide educational modules and training opportunities on key elements of HIV care delivery. You can access some of these training and education resources using the links below. For a complete listing of available resources, please visit the Continuing Medical Education credits and Continuing Education units on the HIV Nexus webpage.

• HIV Prevention Certified Provider
  HealthHIV’s HIV Prevention Certified Provider program is an online, self-paced CME curriculum composed of five (5) free e-learning courses in HIV prevention detailing the pertinent clinical and practice information that clinicians need to effectively employ HIV prevention interventions.
• HIV Transmission Along the Continuum of Care
  The goal of this activity is to describe estimated HIV transmission rates along the continuum of care in the United States in 2016, according to an HIV transmission model.
• NCHHSTP Expert Commentaries on Medscape
  These commentaries are part of a collaboration between CDC and Medscape. They are designed to deliver CDC’s authoritative guidance directly to Medscape’s physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.

CDC and other organizations offer HIV consultation resources for providers. Examples of these consultation services are identified below.  For a complete listing, please visit the HIV Hotlines Library.

• CDC Info
  CDC Info is CDC’s national health information hotline, providing answers to your questions regarding HIV, how to protect yourself, and where to get an HIV test.
  1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636) | 1-888-232-6348 TTY
• AIDS Info
  A service of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), AIDS Info offers access to the latest, federally approved HIV/AIDS medical practice guidelines, HIV treatment and prevention clinical trials, and other research information for health care providers, researchers, people affected by HIV/AIDS, and the general public.
  1-800-HIV-0440 (448-0440) | 1-888-480-3739 TTY
  1-301-315-2816 (Outside United States)
• The National HIV Clinicians Consultation Center
  Access expert clinical advice on providing optimal care for HIV-positive patients, advice on HIV management in pregnant women and infants, hepatitis C management, substance use management, PrEP, and PEP.

CDC provides a range of professional resource documents to support delivery of high-quality prevention and care services for hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. You can access these resources using the links below or by visiting the Division of Viral Hepatitis’ Health Professional Tools.

• ABC Table: This three-page table on Hepatitis A, B, and C provides an overview of statistics, transmission, risk factors, clinical features, screening, testing, and vaccination recommendations.
• Viral Hepatitis Questions and Answers for Health Professionals: CDC shares answers to common questions health professionals ask about different viral hepatitides. These can be accessed from the links below.
  • Hepatitis A Q&A for Health Professionals
  • Hepatitis B Q&A for Health Professionals
  • Hepatitis C Q&A for Health Professionals
  • Hepatitis D Q&A for Health Professionals
  • Hepatitis E Q&A for Health Professionals
• The Pink Book: Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases: The Pink Book provides physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and others with the most comprehensive information on routinely used vaccines and the diseases they prevent. Access the chapters on hepatitis A and hepatitis B.
• Interpretation of Hepatitis B Serologic Test Results: This one-page tool describes the four most common tests used in hepatitis B serologic testing and provides guidance for interpretation of different patterns of test results.
• Routine Testing and Vaccination for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection: Fact Sheet: This table summarizes CDC’s recommendations for testing for chronic hepatitis B, including specific populations and a map of endemic countries.
• Recommended Testing Sequence for Identifying Current HCV Infection: This one-page flow chart outlines the serologic testing process beginning with anti HCV testing.
• Interpretation of Results of Tests for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection and Further Actions: This one-page table outlines interpretation of initial test results to determine whether or not a patient needs additional testing and clinical evaluation.

CDC and other organizations provide educational modules and training opportunities on key elements of viral hepatitis care delivery.  You can access some of these training and education resources using the links below.  For a complete listing of available resources, please visit the Division of Viral Hepatitis’ Training Resources page.

• Hepatitis C Online: University of Washington is funded by the Division of Viral Hepatitis to develop a comprehensive, online self-study course for medical providers on diagnosis, monitoring, and management of hepatitis C virus infection. Free CME and CNE credit available.
• NCHHSTP Expert Commentaries on Medscape: These commentaries are part of a collaboration between CDC and Medscape. They are designed to deliver CDC’s authoritative guidance directly to Medscape’s physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.

CDC and other organizations develop tools to help health care providers deliver high-quality STD prevention, care and treatment. These include:

• 2015 STD Treatment Guidelines Pocket Guide: This booklet summarizes treatment recommendations found in CDC’s 2015 STD Treatment Guidelines.
• STD Fact Sheets: CDC provides detailed web-based information for health care providers on several STDs, including those listed below. Detailed fact sheets include specific testing and treatment recommendations, as well as citations, so the reader can research the topic in-depth.
  • Chlamydia
  • Gonorrhea
  • Syphilis
  • STDs during Pregnancy
• Sexual Health and Your Patients: A Provider’s Guide: Primary care providers can use this guide to better integrate sexual health conversations and related preventive sexual health services into routine adolescent and adult visits.
• A Guide to Taking a Sexual History: This booklet offers parameters for discussing sexual health issues with patients.
• Syphilis Pocket Guide for Providers: This booklet for providers contains need-to-know details on syphilis diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
• Diagnosis, Management and Prevention of Syphilis: An Update and Review: This clinical guidance document was developed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Bureau of Sexually Transmitted Infections and the NYC STD Prevention Training Center to support syphilis diagnosis and management.
• Expedited Partner Therapy in the Treatment of Gonorrhea: This resource provides details on expedited partner therapy for gonorrhea.

CDC and other organizations provide educational modules and training opportunities on key elements of STD care delivery. Examples of these training opportunities are included below. For a complete listing of these resources, please visit the Division of STD Prevention’s Training Resources page.

• CDC STD Videos and Podcasts: These videos and podcasts are developed by CDC to provide clinicians with expert guidance and support in delivering high quality STD care.
• National STD Curriculum: The National STD Curriculum is an online modular learning experience that helps users learn how to manage STDs. It is continuously updated and integrates the most recent STD Treatment Guidelines. Free CME/CNE are available.
• STD Clinical Slides: The STD Clinical Slides depict symptoms of STDs. They are designed for use by health care providers and health educators and may not be suitable for all audiences.
• Passport to Partner Services for Medical Providers and Referring Providers: This module provides an overview of principles for discussing partner services referral with patients. Free CME, CNE, and CHES credits are available.
• NCHHSTP Expert Commentaries on Medscape: These commentaries are part of a collaboration between CDC and Medscape. They are designed to deliver CDC’s authoritative guidance directly to Medscape’s physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.

Health care providers with STD consultation requests can contact the STD Clinical Consultation Network (STDCCN). This service is provided by the National Network of STD Clinical Prevention Training Centers and operates five days a week. STDCCN is convenient, simple and free to health care providers and clinicians. More information is available on the STDCCN website.

CDC and other organizations develop tools to aid health care providers in delivering high quality TB and latent TB infection (LTBI) prevention, care, and treatment. For a complete listing of available resources, please visit Tools for Health Care Providers,  Latent Tuberculosis Infection Resource Hub, and the Fact Sheet Library.

• Latent Tuberculosis Infection: A Guide for Primary Health Care Providers: This guide is intended for primary care providers who care for individuals and populations who may be at risk for infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the body without signs and symptoms, or radiographic or bacteriologic evidence of TB disease.
  • In addition to this guide, CDC has developed several factsheets and web-based FAQs for health care providers on LTBI screening and treatment, including but not limited to:
    • Targeted Tuberculosis Testing and Interpreting Tuberculin Skin Test Results Fact Sheet
    • Interferon-Gamma Release Assays (IGRAs) – Blood Tests for TB Infection Fact Sheet
    • Latent TB Infection Treatment Web-Based FAQ for Clinicians
    • 12-dose regimen for Latent TB Infection Treatment: Fact Sheet
  • Testing and Diagnosis of TB Infection and TB Disease: This webpage provides information for health care providers on testing options for TB and their relative effectiveness, as well as steps for diagnosing TB
    • In addition to web-based information and fact sheets on tests for TB infection, CDC guidance for diagnosing TB disease is summarized in the following factsheet
      • Diagnosis of Tuberculosis Disease Fact Sheet
    • Treatment for TB Disease: This webpage provides information for health care providers on treatment regimens for drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB, including the relative effectiveness of different treatment options.
      • In addition to web-based information, CDC provides the following fact sheets for health care providers on treating drug-resistant TB:
        • Treatment of Drug-Resistant TB Fact Sheet
        • Treatment of MultiDrug-Resistant TB Fact Sheet
      • ICD-10-CM Codes for Tuberculosis (TB): Find information on new and modified codes, which were implemented in the 2020 release of ICD-10-CM on October 1, 2019, that allow healthcare providers to improve clinical documentation related to LTBI and TB disease.

CDC and other organizations provide educational modules and training opportunities on key elements of tuberculosis care delivery.  You can access some of these training and education resources using the links below.  For a complete listing of available resources, please visit the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination’s Tools for Healthcare Providers and Continuing Education Activities pages.

• TB 101 for Health Care Workers: This web-based course is designed to educate health care workers about basic concepts related to TB prevention and control in the United States. The target audience for the course includes newly hired TB program staff and health care workers in areas related to TB (such as individuals who work in correctional facilities or HIV clinics).
• Interactive Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis: What the Clinician Should Know: The curriculum provides health care providers and other public health professionals with information on diagnosing and treating latent TB infection and TB disease. The target audience of the course is health care providers caring for people with or at high risk for TB disease.
• Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis: This series of educational modules is designed to provide information about TB in a self-study format.
• NCHHSTP Expert Commentaries on Medscape: These commentaries are part of a collaboration between CDC and Medscape. They are designed to deliver CDC’s authoritative guidance directly to Medscape’s physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.

The CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination funds four TB Centers of Excellence for Training, Education, and Medical Consultation. These centers support domestic TB control and prevention efforts with a focus on two major activities: Increasing knowledge, skills, and abilities for TB prevention and control through communication, education, and training activities, and improving sustainable evidence-based TB clinical practices and patient care through the provision of expert medical consultation. You may access the Centers of Excellence TB Training and Education Products at the training products webpage.