"Au Labo Sans Ordo ": A 12 Month Local Experimentation of Free HIV Testing Without Prescription in Private Medical and Biological Laboratories in Paris and in the Alpes-Maritimes

The program relies on the hypothesis that the opportunity to get tested for HIV for free (called VihTest) in any Private Laboratory (PL), without prior appointment nor prescription, combined with an intense targeted promotion and communication strategy, will significantly increase the testing coverage. This offer might remove some of the multiple barriers to HIV testing and ease the move to action, in particular within key affected populations which contribute to the largest part of the epidemic dynamic.

This program offers a new access to HIV testing. It is developed jointly by local authorities, the health insurance and state regional health agencies, in response to the very low increase of HIV testing coverage despite a diversification of the testing supply and national recommendations for generalized and repeated HIV testing within key populations.

The experimentation will be implemented for 12 months in all Private Laboratories in Paris (164) and the Alpes-Maritimes (107), targeting a 15% increase in the total volume of tests performed outside of hospital settings.

The evaluation process will focus on:

Axis 1 : The number of tests performed and the number of new HIV diagnosis considering the potential substitution effect towards the current testing provision through CeGIDD (free Centers for Information, Diagnosis and Testing) and community-based outreach testing programs.