Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the HIV Pharmacotherapy Network?

The HIV Pharmacotherapy Network offers the unique opportunity to join a growing group of interdisciplinary professionals in the area of HIV pharmacotherapy. Our mission is to network caregivers, educators and researchers in HIV to provide resources, expertise and an interactive forum from which to advance practice, knowledge and patient care. The Network strives to focus on areas in clinical practice, education and research.

How does the Network work?

The HIV Pharmacotherapy Network website has begun a transformative process from a standard web-publishing model into a dynamic tool for sharing information across the Network. At the core of this process is the development of a new content management system, designed to provide pharmacists and other care providers with simple tools for inputting and extracting worthwhile data and information.

As the HIV Pharmacotherapy Network of pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other health care providers and researchers continues to grow, so too will the HIV Pharmacotherapy Network web site grow to meet their need for current, valid, and usable information about AIDS and HIV and related drug therapies.

Who is eligible for membership in the Network?

The HIV Pharmacotherapy Network targets pharmacists and other health care providers and researchers working in any area related to HIV practice, education or research. Anyone is free to access information from the site. However, only peer-reviewed material can be posted onto the site.

What information can I expect to find on the Network's web site?

• Ask The Experts
• Continuing Education
• On-Line Search Engines
• Case Studies
• Pharmacology Issues
  • Antiretrovirals: General Information
  • Antiretroviral Toxicity
  • Antiretroviral Assay Methods
  • Clinical Research
  • Drug Interactions
  • Pediatrics/Maternal-Fetal Pharmacotherapy
  • Pharmacoeconomics
  • Pharmacogenomics
  • Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics
  • Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
• Resistance Issues
  • Genotypic/Phenotypic Resistance Testing
  • Integrating Resistance tests with TDM
• Patient Management Issues
  • Patient Management/Adherence
  • UB Pharmacology-Adherence Program
  • National HIV Adherence Preceptorship
  • UB Adherence-HIV Pharmacology Residency Program

What is the best way to find an answer to my HIV-related clinical question?

• Patient-specific case submissions
  • Using user-friendly but detailed web forms, Network editors and members will be able to enter information into our database, where it can be reviewed by the contributing editors prior to being loaded dynamically onto the website. Forms will be developed for all types of content, from short news items to detailed patient case studies, right down to the dosage information. All forms will be password protected to assure members of the security of their data.
• Ask the experts
  • Users can post questions in the form of short cases or simple questions to be forwarded to our editorial board and contributing editors for review and responses. Through the dynamic, interactive nature of the network and the listserv, input from practitioners and researchers across the country and internationally can be sought in an expedited fashion.
• Listserv
  • A growing listserv of HIV practitioners and researchers has been developed as an additional tool for interfacing with members in a timely fashion and allowing communication with and access to a larger body of experts.
• Published Literature
  • Currently, published journal references that accompany articles and case studies on the site are being linked to the National Library of Medicine’s PUBMED engine. Dynamic news feeds for HIV and AIDS information around the world are being added to the Network’s home page.
• Unpublished Literature
  • Meeting abstracts and proceedings, review papers, lectures and PowerPoint presentations, will be provided throughout the website.
  • Network members are able to use robust search tools to dig through existing case studies, web links, and contributed features. All information will be classified under National Library of Medicine subject terms, making searching consistent and effective.
• Internet Sites
  • As many high-caliber internet sites are already in existence and maintained by experts, our editorial staff will provide links to quality websites throughout the HIV Pharmacotherapy Network site.
• Features and articles from contributing editors
  • Contributing editors will have content management tools to enable them to develop vertical channels within the Network site, complete with news items, featured brief articles, links to important web sites, and drug information sheets.

What activities does the Network sponsor?

• Live Symposia
• On-line symposia and homestudy continuing education
• HIV Certificate Program
• HIV Preceptorship Program

How, specifically, does the Network aid in improving care provided to HIV/AIDS patients?

Using the Ask the Experts section as well as the Case Submission tools, information regarding real patients can be discussed and assistance can be provided to practitioners through professional peers, experts and researchers.

Preceptorship training will allow interested practitioners to train at a specialty HIV site to further improve their patient management skills to better care for their patients.

Continuing education symposia, homestudy and Certificate Programs are available for practitioners to further improved their knowledge and skills.