HIV Testing

When should I get tested?
If you suspect or are worried that you may have been exposed to HIV, we recommend that you get tested as soon as possible. Knowing your HIV status will help you get the appropriate treatment. Please know that we are here to support you and provide high-quality care.

It is recommended you have an HIV test completed if one or more of the following applies to you:

• Have the flu or an illness that no one can diagnose, and you've engaged in high-risk behaviors (such as unprotected sex with a new partner or sharing needles or IV drugs).
  
• Get pneumonia more than twice in a year
• Have yeast in your mouth (thrush) or in your throat or esophagus
• Are a woman who keeps getting vaginal yeast infections
• Have abnormal Pap smears.
• Have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) — also called sexually transmitted diseases — such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes simplex virus 2, or human papillomavirus (HPV).
• Have been diagnosed with hepatitis B or C.
• Find out that a past or present sex partner or needle-sharing partner is infected with HIV

How can I get tested for HIV?
If you receive care from a Kaiser Permanente doctor and need to get an HIV test, your doctor can help facilitate a test for you at a medical center lab.
If there is a positive HIV test result, the lab will first notify the Kaiser Permanente HIV/PrEP program. Usually the program reaches out to the ordering provider to discuss communicating the results, but the doctor can also contact the HIV/PrEP provider on call to discuss next steps.