In just two years, a needle exchange program instituted in Washington, DC, prevented 120 new cases of HIV infection and saved $44 million as a result.
Surveillance data to predict HIV prevention
The needle exchange program was started by the city’s Department of Health after a DC ban on the program was lifted in 2007. The needle exchange program offers free sterile needles to drug users, along with free HIV testing and referrals to programs for treating drug addiction. Published in the journal AIDS and Behavior, the authors examined the rate of injection drug use-related HIV infection before and after the ban. Using forecasting techniques, there were able to predict how many cases of HIV would have occurred had the ban not been lifted.
The program caused a 70% drop in new HIV cases
Had the ban stayed in place, the study predicted that 296 new HIV cases would have been diagnosed over two years. However, the city saw only 176 new cases of HIV linked to injection drug use, thereby potentially preventing 120 HIV cases. The authors also noted that the needle exchange program continues to prevent the occurrence of drug use related HIV cases in the city.
The researchers looked at the estimated savings associated with treating fewer HIV patients than before the ban. Using the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) guidelines for the lifetime cost of HIV treatment, they calculated savings of $44.3 million for the 120 cases averted. While needle exchange programs have previously shown success in studies conducted by Washington and New York, this is the first to calculate the economic benefits of the program.
The program warrants policy changes at the federal level
The cost of running the needle exchange program is just $650,000 per year, with far more benefits both in terms of taxpayers’ money and public heath. These statistics should convince policy makers to take a second look at the federal funding status for such programs. While critics contend that these programs encourage illicit drug use, they have provided one of the most at-risk communities with possibly their only access to regular healthcare.
