 In this newsletter, you will find updates from the Division of HIV and STI Programs (DHSP). If you have any questions or feedback about the newsletter, please reach out to us at: MDHHS-SHOARS-Support@Michigan.gov.
 The CDC recently updated their Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Clinical Practice Guidelines. These updates clarify aspects of clinical care and incorporate advancements in HIV PrEP. To improve awareness of PrEP, the CDC now recommends that all sexually active adults and adolescents should be informed about PrEP. Discussions of sexual health, and more specifically PrEP, should not be limited to only selected individuals (HIV and other STI infections occur in all adult and adolescent age groups, both sexes, all genders, and both married and unmarried persons).The updated CDC guidelines also simplify patient indications for PrEP. Patients may not feel comfortable discussing behaviors that make them vulnerable to HIV acquisition due to stigma or previous negative healthcare experiences. Healthcare providers should attempt to assess sexual health and injection behaviors, but the updated guidelines specify that patients who request PrEP should be offered it, even when no specific risk behaviors are elicited. Another significant update to CDC guidelines is the addition of PrEP medication options that have been approved since the previous guidelines were released. In addition to TDF/FTC (Truvada and generic), the Guidelines now include clinical recommendations for oral TAF/FTC (Descovy) and injectable cabotegravir (Apretude). In addition to these highlights, the updated guidelines contain many other updates, additions, and clarifications. Please use to the link below to review the full guidelines, a clinical provider supplement, and other CDC summaries and resources.
Learn About PrEP | Preventing New HIV Infections | Clinicians | HIV | CDC
Over the last five years, the number of women in Michigan diagnosed with syphilis has increased by five times. Left untreated, syphilis can cause serious health problems. Now more than ever, it is imperative that medical providers are testing for syphilis infection. DHSP is encouraging medical provider to test women who:
- Present with symptomatic syphilis infection or
- have a known exposure to syphilis or
- are asymptomatic for syphilis but present with other STIs or for STI testing or
- are pregnant. Pregnant women should be tested in the first trimester and again early in the third trimester.
Due to the recent increase in the rate of infection, the CDC recommends screening all sexually active adults living in Wayne (including Detroit), Oakland, and Macomb Counties at least annually for syphilis and other STIs. For more information and to learn how you can help stop syphilis, reach out to Karen Lightheart.
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The Michigan Integrated Data Application for STI and HIV (MIDASH) is experiencing a temporary delay and we will not be kicking off in mid-March as originally planned. Please know that DHSP and MDHHS, are fully committed to MIDASH and we’re continuing to prepare so that we can hit the ground running with the project as soon as possible. We plan to reach out to some of our external partners soon to identify the groups that will be involved in the early stages of MIDASH development. We will keep you posted on developments as they occur. For more information about MIDASH, visit Michigan.gov/MIDASH.
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 The State of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Division of HIV and STI Programs is honored to announce the 2022 Michigan Clinical Nursing Conference for HIV and STI Care. By bringing together local, regional, and national experts in HIV/STI care and prevention, we strive to maximize participant knowledge and skills; share best practices; and promote collaborative opportunities. We recognize and appreciate your continued commitment to expanding your knowledge on current HIV/STI care and prevention issues and practices. Visit mihivstdnursing.com for more information and to register.
 Mark your calendars as National STD Awareness Week is April 10-16. This week is an opportunity for us to highlight and raise awareness around STDs/STIs and how they impact our lives; reduce STI related stigma, fear, and discrimination; and ensure that people have the tools and knowledge to test, treat, and prevent STIs. For tools, resources, and to start planning for National STD Awareness Week, visit the CDC website here.
 March 21st through 25th is recognized by the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health as National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week. This year’s theme is LIVE OUT LOUD For LGBTQ Health! The theme encourages everyone to speak openly and extensively about LGBTQ health and speaks to the importance of using our collective voice to lift up and support the LGBTQ community in every way we can. This is a week to raise awareness around mental health, trans health, and ending the stigma through accessible, affirming, and inclusive healthcare services so that everyone can fully live their truth and a healthy life. For more information visit HealthLGBT.org.
On November 29th, our division launched the STI/HIV Operations and Resource System, also known as SHOARS. This system allows our partners to interact with us easily and efficiently. Many of our partners have already registered and started to use SHOARS. You should plan on registering and using SHOARS if you are someone who:
- is a DHSP partner.
- is associated with an HIV/STI program.
- receives funding from DHSP.
- attends trainings, events, or conferences run by DHSP.
- requests HIV/STI: supplies, data, health promotion materials, technical assistance, etc. from DHSP.
- interacts with DHSP.
Learn more at Michigan.gov/SHOARS.
As an important reminder, please do not upload or include any Protected Health Information (PHI) or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in SHOARS. This includes information that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a person living with HIV/STIs (patient name, DOB, address, email, SSN, etc.).
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DHSP has received a new grant to collaborate with HRSA, NASTAD, AcademyHealth, and The University of California at San Francisco to improve HIV outcomes for people on Medicaid.
This is a collaborative project that involves key leadership from DHSP, Medicaid, Optum, and the Michigan Association of Health Plans. We have several goals; the first goal is to calculate and publish viral suppression rates for Michigan’s Medicaid population on the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Adult Core Data Set website. Right now, only a few states report their viral load suppression rates to CMS.
Goals in subsequent years include educating and engaging Michigan Health Plans on their viral suppression rates through a lens of health equity and health disparities. We will work with health plans to share data on viral suppression so that health plans can engage in care coordination with us. We will create connections between health plans and their local Ryan White programs. If you have any questions on this project, please contact Katie Macomber. A helpful fact sheet is located here: Part F: Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program (hrsa.gov) (page 2).
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Over the past year, members of the HIV Care/Prevention Section and STI Section have been working with United Way and 211 to develop a HIV/STI Prevention and Care specific 211 web page. This project emerged from an amazing site visit with a local health department (LHD) who was part of the MDHHS Medicaid SIMs project 2015-2017. Reflecting on the need for a more accurate resource inventory and seeing the connection between community resources, the LHD, and 211 was what truly sparked this initiative. To foster the success of this effort, DHSP staff have worked to develop HIV/STI specific language for the web page, provide updated services (i.e., self-testing, case management, etc.) to 211, and update contract language to ensure that agencies have the most up to date information in 211. The web page can be visited at mi211.org/HIV-STI-Services. DHSP partners are encouraged to share this resource with the community.
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MDHHS launched the We Treat Hep C Initiative to increase access to hepatitis C treatment among Michigan Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan beneficiaries. As part of this initiative, MDHHS has partnered with AbbVie, pharmaceutical manufacturer of MAVYRET.
Now, all providers with prescriptive authority can treat for hepatitis C. The success of the We Treat Hep C Initiative will be dependent on the clinical community treating for hepatitis C.
To assist providers with feeling more comfortable and confident treating patients for hepatitis C, the Michigan Center for Rural Health, in partnership with Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, is using the Project ECHO® model to create a community collaboration to assist providers and other members of the health care team throughout Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to more effectively and confidently manage their hepatitis C patients.
Each session is accredited for one hour of CME. Please see the below upcoming hepatitis C trainings and distribute them among your provider networks:
Workup and Therapy of Hepatitis C Patients March 23, 2022 Noon to 1 p.m. EST Register for the training
Case Discussion of Hepatitis C Patients April 13, 2022 Noon to 1 p.m. EST Register for the training
Explore additional clinical training resources and opportunities
Thank you for reading our newsletter.
DHSP newsletters come out four times a year. Please send any feedback to MDHHS-SHOARS-Support@Michigan.gov. Please feel free to share this newsletter.
Michigan.gov/HIVSTI
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