Metropolitan Health first private sector provider to embrace new WHO HIV guidelines

Metropolitan Health, the largest administrator of closed schemes and managed care provider, has recently become the first private sector provider to align to the new World Health Organisation (WHO) HIV treatment guidelines.

The guidelines, which recommend that people living with HIV be started on antiretrovirals (ARVs) as soon as possible after being diagnosed, is a milestone move informed by latest research. Metropolitan Health’s HIV YourLife programme is the first HIV private sector disease risk management programme to adopt the new WHO ‘test and treat’ approach and guideline, of which benefits include improved early detection with a higher baseline CD4, lower risk of opportunistic infection and transmission, and decreased mortality. This empowers the healthcare provider to decide when a patient is ready to commence treatment irrespective of CD4, but does require more focus on viral load control related to patient compliance. Metropolitan Health endorses the use of the new WHO HIV Treatment Guideline as best practise in setting the industry standard.