A key component of the Centre’s mandate is to monitor the impact of HIV/AIDS on British Columbia. The BC-CfE provides essential information to local health authorities, treating physicians and the community-at-large on an ongoing basis.

The Drug Treatment Program Update is one example of the Centre’s commitment.

In B.C., all anti-HIV medications are distributed at no cost to eligible HIV-infected individuals through the Centre’s Drug Treatment Program (DTP). The DTP Update provides an important overview of available anti-HIV drugs, common drug combinations and distribution of active DTP participants throughout the province.

DTP participants are typically followed at three-monthly intervals at which time routine blood sampling is performed. Information from all recipients is entered into a database, providing data for clinical and virological outcome studies of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy. These studies form the basis of ongoing revisions to the Centre’s treatment guidelines.