Bad Form? -- Onerous paperwork could leave many with HIV without services

Once a year, Mike Hellman turns in a sheet of paper to the Shepherd Wellness Center to verify he's in care for treatment of HIV.

The sheet is simple: It asks for his physician's name and the date of recent blood tests, and for a signature authorizing the release of information. Once it's turned in, Hellman is eligible to use the Bloomfield center's HIV support services, like group therapy and congregant meals.

But under new federal guidelines for services supporting those with HIV and AIDS, Hellman will have to fill out a five-page form and attach information like a print-out of his lab tests, a paystub … even information on his stock holdings and other assets. And he'll have to do so more frequently. That means providers, like Shepherd Wellness or Allegheny General's Positive Health Clinic, will have to sift through more paperwork to provide care.

"It's just one more hoop to go through," says Mary Gallagher, manager of the Positive Health Clinic. "No one wants to do it, but time is ticking away to get it done."

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