Open AccessSpecimen Referral Network to Rapidly Scale-Up CD4 Testing: The Hub and Spoke Model for Haiti
Author(s) -
Frantz Jean Louis,
Anna Janick Osborne,
Viala Jean Elias,
Josiane Buteau,
Jacques Boncy,
Angela Elong,
Amber Dismer,
Vikram Sasi,
Jean Wysler Domerçant,
Daniel Lauture,
S. Arunmozhi Balajee,
Barbara J. Marston
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of aids and clinical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2155-6113
DOI - 10.4172/2155-6113.1000488
Subject(s) - referral , workload , medicine , health care , spoke hub distribution paradigm , quality (philosophy) , test (biology) , scale (ratio) , sample (material) , operations management , medical emergency , family medicine , computer science , engineering , transport engineering , geography , paleontology , philosophy , chemistry , epistemology , chromatography , economics , biology , economic growth , operating system , cartography
Regular and quality CD4 testing is essential to monitor disease progression in people living with HIV. In Haiti, most laboratories have limited infrastructure and financial resources and have relied on manual laboratory techniques. We report the successful implementation of a national specimen referral network to rapidly increase patient coverage with quality CD4 testing while at the same time building infrastructure for referral of additional sample types over time.