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  Practice Support Newsletter
  June 2025

June 27th is National HIV Testing Day

HIV.gov has highlighted National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) as June 27th each year. NHTD was first observed on June 27, 1995. This is a day to encourage people to get tested for HIV, know their status, and get linked to care and treatment.

HIV testing, including self-testing, is the pathway to engaging people in care to keep them healthy, regardless of their test result. People who receive a negative test result can take advantage of HIV prevention tools such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), condoms, and other sexual health services such as vaccines and testing for sexually transmitted infections. People who receive a positive test result can rapidly start HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy, or ART) to stay healthy. 
 
The HIV Epidemic Analysis Dashboard for Mecklenburg County highlights the following data as of 2022:
  • 87.1% of the population knows their HIV status.
  • 80.1% of patients have been linked to care within one month of a new diagnosis.
  • 68.7% of patients have achieved viral suppression.
  • 27.5% of the population with indicators for PrEP have been prescribed PrEP.
Resources for practices and patients:
  • CDC Testing Resource Page and Social Media Kit.
  • HIV Testing Sites and Care Services Locator if testing and care is not offered in your practice.
Measure of the Month: HIV Screening
HIV Screening for 2025 is CMS 349v7 . This measure evaluates the proportion of patients aged 15 to 65 at the start of the measurement period who have documentation of having received an HIV test at least once on or after their 15th birthday and before their 66th birthday.

HIV crosses the boundaries of sexual orientation, gender, age, and ethnicity. More than 1 million people in the United States have HIV, and many are unaware of their status. About 40% of new HIV infections are transmitted by people who are unaware they have HIV. Diagnosing HIV quickly and linking people to treatment immediately are crucial steps to reducing new HIV infections. 
 
The CDC offers the following guidance for testing:
  • Offer HIV screening to all patients to help eliminate stigma.
  • Conduct more frequent screenings for patients with certain risk factors for HIV.
  • Use an “opt-out” approach (NCDHHS guidance on opt-out testing).
    • Standardize testing in Well Visits.

Regulatory Reminders: Bloodborne Pathogens

The guidance around properly managing bloodborne pathogens is abundant. OSHA provides technical definitions along with requirements and North Carolina expands on these expectations. UNC SPICE has an amazing list of resources to help your practice ensure a safe environment for staff and patients along with staying in compliance. 

You should review your processes and protocols annually or when processes change. South Piedmont Practice Support is here to support you, connect with a South Piedmont AHEC Coach today!

Coding for HIV Screening and Case Management

According to the U.S. Statistics on HIV.gov , CDC estimates that approximately 13% of the 1.2 million adults and adolescents living with HIV infection in the United States were unaware of their infection. HIV screening identifies infected individuals who were previously unaware of their infection which, in turn, enables them to seek medical and social services that can improve their health, quality, and length of their lives. 

HIV screening and testing services are covered by NC Medicaid, including point of care testing, using procedure code 86703. Medicare also covers annual HIV screening for eligible individuals, including coverage for PrEP for those at high risk.

Encounter code, Z11.4, may also be used to document the screening for HIV particularly if they have no prior diagnosis or positive HIV status. More detail may be found here .

NC Medicaid also covers HIV case management for beneficiaries with a documented diagnosis of HIV disease or HIV seropositivity, according to NC Medicaid. Using code G9012, you may bill for HIV Case Management services. The Fee Schedule and online look up tool is available for more information.

SUN Bucks

SUN Bucks is a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that provides grocery-buying benefits in a one-time payment of $120 per eligible child on a debit-like card that can be used to buy nutritious food during the summer months when schools are out.

Many North Carolina children who are eligible for SUN Bucks will receive them without needing to complete a SUN Bucks application. If your patient needs help navigating eligibility or submitting an application, see the NC SUN Bucks website.
AHEC Class Spotlight

Practice Academy Boot Camp

The Practice Manager Boot Camp (PMBC) consists of nine separate modules that introduce the basic concepts of practice management: financial management, insurance, the revenue cycle, coding, human resources, customer service, leadership, operations management, and quality improvement. Participants can customize their learning by taking all the modules OR just selecting the modules they need.

The courses will meet live on Thursdays from 3:00–4:00 p.m. and will also be recorded for later viewing and review. 

Those who want to take the entire boot camp (all nine modules) can receive a 25% discount on the $900 tuition if they register by July 16, 2025. Those registering for individual modules after July 16 will receive a 20% discount on individual modules if they register no later than one month before the start of the module. 

Join the NCAHEC Practice Management Academy Platform with this link and then follow the links under Upcoming Courses. Participants can also register by visiting Southern Regional Area Health Education Center’s course event calendar and searching Practice Manager Boot Camp. 

For more information, contact Jane Moran
at jane.moran@sr-ahec.org or 910-678-0113.

Additional Resources

Medicaid Manage Care
Latest Course Catalog
Collaborative Care Model
Prior Practice Support Newsletters
South Piedmont AHEC Practice Support
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