Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: Telehealth Collaborative Care for Rural Veterans With HIV Infection

An estimated 1.2 million HIV patients live in the United States. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest provider of HIV care in the country, with approximately 26,000 Veterans in care in 2013. As HIV treatments have become more effective, persons with HIV infection are living longer. As a result, the population of HIV patients is increasingly expanding and aging. With average life spans near normal, HIV patients often acquire other conditions that primary care physicians are best suited to address, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.