332 “Opt-Out” HIV Screening in the Emergency Department Discovers a High Prevalence of Undiagnosed HIV in the Upstate of South Carolina: Brief Report on the Conclusion of an 8-Year Emergency Department Collaboration With South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

With over 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, the HIV/AIDS epidemic remains a large public health threat, particularly among underserved populations. Because emergency departments (EDs) are often the only access that many US citizens utilize for health care, EDs are in a unique position to identify HIV positive individuals from high-risk populations and have been selectively emphasized as critical capture points in multiple studies. This study reviews a 8-year collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and local HIV clinics to establish a generalized "opt-out" HIV screening program in the only Level I Trauma Center ED serving the Upstate region of South Carolina (∼95K adult visits/year).

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