All About Telehealth for HIV Telehealth allows doctors to care for people virtually over a phone call, text message, or most commonly, video chat. Although some situations require an in-person visit, telehealth is a great option when you can't get to the doctor's office for your HIV. If you're new to telehealth, here's what you need to know. Medicare will cover telehealth visits just like in-person visits, but state Medicaid programs and private insurers vary, so confirm your coverage in advance. With telehealth, even though you're not in the doctor's office, your private health information is still covered by HIPAA, so it will remain confidential and secure. Although your doctor can't give you a physical exam via telehealth, they can write prescriptions and offer quality care, especially if you prepare in advance. Before your telehealth appointment:- List any HIV symptoms or signs of complications–and include dates and severity- Note any side effects from your HIV medications, like gastrointestinal upset, heart problems, weak bones, high blood sugar or cholesterol, signs of kidney or liver damage, or cognitive issues- Record your vital signs if you own a blood pressure monitor, thermometer, or another device- Compile a list of your health conditions and all medications, including supplements- Write down any questions you have for your doctor- Charge your computer or phone- Make sure your internet is reliable- Download any telehealth apps your specific provider may require- Find a quiet, private space to conduct the call- Be prepared with pen and paper or a note-taking app Turn to Healthgrades to connect with the right infectious disease specialist to treat HIV via telehealth. And share this video to spread the word!

Raven: Getting to know your doctor, eating healthy, getting into support groups, loving yourself, and exercise. Yolanda: After my diagnosis, I began to receive nutrition and exercise advice. Marcus: Working out, watching diet. Dorothy: You need to adopt a whole foods diet, which is loaded with fruits and vegetables. Tomara: I'm eating quinoa. I'm eating kale salads, spinach, broccoli. Dr. Khalil: Protein should be a big focus, lean meat, fish. Beth Warren: A patient who has HIV may experience weight loss, so you may have to do a diet that's going to help promote weight gain at times. Dorothy: You want to include healthy fats. Beth Warren: Those are foods like nuts, avocados, nut butters. It's important for patients with HIV to take into account food safety rules. Because their immune system's compromised, they're more likely to catch infections from poor handling of foods. Dorothy: You want to make sure your water is really as clean as you can get it. Beth Warren: So get acclimated with the temperature you're supposed to cook your meat. Dorothy: You even want to put a filter maybe in your shower head. Dr. Khalil: The most important thing for them is going to be compliance with your medications. Marcus: And that becomes sometimes the most difficult part because you just go, "God, I just don't want to do it anymore." And then you take a deep breath and you suck it up and you take your meds and you move on with your day. Dorothy: Stress management is key. People living with HIV who include daily meditations or daily sessions of prayer have much better outcomes. Yolanda: And it was really taking me to a place that I felt such a sense of calm. Dorothy: This is not woo-woo. This is science. The easiest way to meditate, simply follow your breath. Tomara: And just breathe, saying nothing. Just ... just breathing. Dorothy: Exercise is perhaps the most powerful antidepressant that you can do. Raven: I do a lot of yoga. Dorothy: If your body is flexible, you become flexible. Tomara: The number one thing for someone going on a regimen is to have that support. Raven: It's good to talk to someone else outside your box. Yolanda: Find a therapist. Marcus: Talk to people. They're there for you. I'm there for you. Dorothy: Just because you have HIV does not mean that you can't have a healthy, happy, long life. Your wellness is very much up to you, and it's time to make a commitment.

Yolanda: I'm Yolanda. I live in Brooklyn now, but I'm originally from Alabama, and I'm HIV-positive. Marcus: I was diagnosed in... I remember the date exactly. May 12, 1992. Yolanda: There was a lot of itchy bumps on my head. I thought, "Let me go lie in the sun and it'll just dissolve the blisters or whatever they are, you know?." And it actually made it worse. Andrea: I was married to a man that had acquired HIV many moons before he met me. He knew that he had HIV. I found out because he had an affair. Yolanda: In the emergency room, they said, "Have you ever been tested for HIV?" I said, "No." I was just denying it at that point. The next thing that happened was I began to have gum disease, very bad problems with my teeth. Then I decided I needed to get tested for HIV after those two incidents. So I did, and I was. And, you know, it freaked me out. Marcus: The test comes back positive. I felt the blood drain all the way down to where I was sitting. Andrea: The love that I thought that was there was all a lie. This person deceived me in the worst sort of way. I just thought, "Why me?" Yolanda: I felt very alone. And the person that I was living with that I thought I was in love with left. Andrea: Even though my doctor said that I wasn't going to die, I still went home and made sure my will was up to date and just made sure... prepared for death. It was one of the most horrific things that could have happened to you, but at the same time, it's like, okay it happened. Now I have to make sure that my kids are protected. Marcus: After the news was delivered, the very first question that I had was, "All right. What do I do now?" Yolanda: I began to receive nutrition and exercise advice, fitness advice, things like that. I became healthier after my HIV diagnosis. Andrea: It's something that's manageable, and if you take care of yourself correctly, properly, you can live a long time. Yolanda: You can have a great life if you're committed to making that happen.

Andrea: My name is Andrea Johnson 00:00:09. I have been living with HIV for seven years now. Anyone thinks about HIV, it's like, “Oh, my God, I don't wanna talk about that.” Why? It's fear. It's fear because we don't talk about it enough. Dr. Felsen: Probably the most common misconception about HIV is that people think that it's not something that they can get. Yolanda: Anyone, literally, can have HIV, and not tell you that they do. Dr. Khalil: You have to be careful, obviously, with that diagnosis. You want to protect your loved ones. Yolanda: You have to be sure that when you're having sex with someone that you know what's up with them, what their status is, what your status is, and you have to be honest about it. Marcus: Understand that it has nothing to do with guilt, bad behavior of ... you know, some sort of punishment, for being who you are. It's not a gay disease. It has nothing to do with any of that. It is a virus. Dr. Felsen: Some people take it as an opportunity to, in some ways, turn their life around. Yolanda: Throw yourself 100% into fulfilling your goals and dreams. Andrea: Talk to a professional. The recommendation is that you start medications right away, so that your viral load can stay below zero or undetectable. Dr. Goldberg: There are excellent medications that treat it. Many of the regimens are a single pill once a day, with minimal or no side effect. Dr. Felsen: Live a healthy lifestyle, like anyone else, and by healthy lifestyle, I mean a healthy diet, a well balanced diet, and regular exercise. Marcus: And now the next step is, take care of yourself, and love yourself, and forgive yourself. Andrea: Look, you're going to live. You're going to survive. You're going to be able to do everything that you aspire to do in your life. It's all up to you and what you want to do. HIV is the virus. It is not you as the person.

Treating HIV is a lot different than it was 30 years ago, so it probably won't surprise you that today, more than 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV. But there's a lot about HIV you might not know. 1. You can contract HIV in a number of ways. HIV can spread through contact with blood, semen, vaginal fluid, or breast milk. Unprotected sex, sharing needles, and mother-to-fetus contact are common ways to contract HIV. 2. It can take 10 years for HIV symptoms to develop, so you might not even know you have it. About 1 in 8 Americans infected with HIV doesn't realize it. Often it's only when HIV progresses into AIDS and the immune system deteriorates that symptoms start. That's why it's so important to get tested. 3. When it multiplies, the HIV virus can mutate so that drugs can't control it. This is known as HIV drug resistance. That means your strain of the HIV virus won't respond to the treatment you're currently on, and you'll need a new plan. Missing doses of medication allows the virus to multiply, which increases your chances of developing HIV drug resistance. Talk to your doctor for tips on staying consistent with your treatment regimen. 4. By using Healthgrades' Guided Physician Search, it's easy to find a doctor who's the best fit for you and your life. 5. Minority populations like gay and bisexual men, as well as African Americans and Latinos, have the greatest risk of getting HIV. According to the CDC, gay and bisexual men make up roughly 60% of all American men newly infected with HIV. African Americans account for about 44% of all new HIV infections, while Latinos represent about 23%. HIV is not a death sentence like it was in the past. With the right treatment regimen, it's more like a chronic disease that can be managed. Anti-retro viral therapy, also known as ART, prevents the virus from multiplying, protecting the immune system so it can fight infections. If you're consistent with your medical care, you can live a long full life with HIV, and you can find the right doctor to help you manage your HIV at Healthgrades.