NPR

What We've Learned Treating People With HIV Can Make Care Better For Us All

AIDS has been transformed from a death sentence into a manageable chronic disease. The holistic approach to care that helped make that possible could transform health care for us all.
A memorial honoring victims of the AIDS epidemic sits across the street from the former St. Vincent's Hospital site in New York City, where many of the early victims of AIDS were diagnosed.

It's been two decades since we established effective treatment against HIV, rendering what was nearly always a fatal infection to a chronic, manageable condition.

I remember one of the first AIDS patients I met as a medical student in the mid-90s: Harry, a young man losing his sight from an opportunistic infection called CMV retinitis. We had only one drug we could give him to try to stop him from going blind.

Ganciclovir was horrible. Given intravenously, it burned at

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
From Jailhouse Melodies To Vanishing Salmon, Rejuvenate Your Listening History
Enjoy the spring bloom, get outside, listen to a new podcast! The NPR One team has gathered a few returning favorites as well as some fresh releases from across public media.
NPR3 min read
A Cartoonist's Guide To Navigating 'Normal'
Cartoonist Liana Finck has spent years learning the "rules" of social interactions. She's not convinced. Her comics poke fun at the contradictions and absurdities of daily life and modern parenting.
NPR11 min read
Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' Is Written In Blood
With The Tortured Poets Department, the defining pop star of her era has made an album as messy and confrontational as any good girl's work can get.

Related