Telephone notification of HIV test results: Impact in king County, Washington

Objective: We evaluated if receiving HIV test results over the telephone was associated with a change in the number of persons who received results. Study Design: Data were collected from individuals testing for HIV from 1995 to 2002 at selected public clinics in King County, WA. Rates of receiving HIV test results were calculated for periods before and after telephone results were offered, for persons who were offered and accepted, offered but declined, and not offered telephone results. Results: For persons testing HIV positive, overall rates of receiving results before and after telephone results were offered increased from 85% to 94% (P = 0.07). After controlling for confounders, people in the group offered and accepting telephone results were 2.5 (95% CI 1.7-3.6) times more likely to get HIV results compared to persons in the group not offered telephone results. Conclusions: Notifying persons of their HIV test results over the telephone may increase the numbers of people receiving results.