The Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) is a public health initiative designed to learn more about the experiences and needs of people with HIV. It is supported by several government agencies and conducted by state and local health departments along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
By collecting locally and nationally representative behavioral and medical record data from people with HIV, MMP will help answer the following questions:
- How many people with HIV are receiving medical care for HIV?
- How easy is it to access medical care, prevention, and support services?
- What are the met and unmet needs of people with HIV?
- How is treatment affecting people with HIV?
People sampled for MMP will be contacted by health department staff working for Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) thru mail and/or phone.
Why is MMP Important?
MMP is important because it provides information about the behaviors, medical care, and health status of people with HIV.
MMP is unique in that it describes comprehensive clinical and behavioral information from people carefully sampled to represent everyone diagnosed with HIV in the United States. Because MMP's estimates are designed to be representative, information gathered from MMP may be used by prevention planning groups, policy leaders, health care providers, and people with HIV to highlight disparities in care and services and advocate for needed resources.
- Patients
The MMP has two components: a personal interview and medical record abstraction.
MMP staff will invite each selected patient to participate in a face-to-face interview or telephone interview. The interview takes approximately 60 minutes and includes questions concerning their medical history, use of medical and social services, and risk behaviors. Participants receive a token of appreciation for their time.
Trained MMP medical record abstractors will then collect additional information from the patient's medical chart, which complements the data from the interview.
Is the information collected kept confidential?
Yes, all information collected will be kept confidential, including your name, your contact information, and, if you have a health care provider, your provider's name or the facility where he or she practices.Participants' names, facility names, and provider names are not sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will not be used in any reports.
Where can I learn more about MMP?
You can reach out to the Indiana Medical Monitoring ProjectYou can also contact your state or local health department or call the CDC MMP Information Line for more information about MMP.
Additional Resources for Participants - Providers
Providers of HIV care are essential to the success of the Medical Monitoring Project. The MMP has great potential to shape the future of HIV care, treatment, prevention, and support services. Maximizing participation of selected providers and their patients will increase the likelihood of obtaining information that is truly representative of patients in care for HIV, in Indiana and across the United States.
Providers who encourage their patients to participate in the project help to increase the representation of the data collected. Additionally, MMP encourages participants who are not in care to re-engage with their providers.
Frequently Asked Questions for Providers
What is the Medical Monitoring Project (MMP)?
MMP is a cross-sectional, locally and nationally representative sample survey that assesses the clinical and behavioral characteristics of adults with diagnosed HIV in the United States and Puerto Rico, regardless of HIV care status. Information gathered from MMP can be used to help improve the quality of HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for people with HIV throughout the United States. The project is conducted by state and local health departments in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Which health departments are participating?
See the full list of participating areas.What should I say if my patient asks me about MMP?
- MMP is a legitimate, long-standing project run by the health department and CDC.
- Information from MMP is used by prevention planning groups, policy leaders, health care providers, and people with HIV to advocate for needed resources and improve the quality of those services.
- Participants receive a token of appreciation (typically a gift card).
Even if your patient is not interested in participating, ask them to contact their local MMP staff. This way, the staff know to stop contacting them.
How were my patients sampled?
Like many other reportable health conditions, all HIV diagnoses are reported to public health departments. MMP samples adults with diagnosed HIV from this list of reported cases. Only sampled persons can participate. Sampled persons are contacted either directly by a participating health department or through their providers to obtain consent for their participation.Will my patient be compensated?
Your patient will receive a token of appreciation (typically a gift card) for taking part in MMP.What kind of information is collected?
We collect information on various demographic, clinical, and behavioral characteristics. This includes, but is not limited, to the following information:- Medical history
- Medical and social services
- Prescribed medications
- Clinic visits
For more detail, see the questionnaire and medical record abstraction forms.
Why do you need to look at my patient’s medical record?
Information from the medical record assists with assessing HIV treatment and quality of care at local and national levels. No identifying information (i.e., provider or client names) is maintained.How has the information from the survey been used?
MMP data have been used to increase awareness and influence local and national policies on matters that impact people with HIV. At the national level, data have been used to assess adherence to clinical guidelines, inform CDC’s anti-stigma campaign, and inform health care providers of ways to improve care for persons with HIV. Locally, MMP data have been used to inform program planning, policy, and funding for services, including the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. Findings are routinely published in surveillance reports and medical journals and
presented to community planning groups and at national conferences on topics, such as HIV medication prescription, viral suppression, and health care coverage.How are the data secured?
MMP staff follow strict protocols to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of your patients’ information. No individual identifiers, including patient or provider names or addresses, are sent to CDC, nor will they be released or used in any reports. - Data/HIPAA
Data from the project will be used to inform HIV prevention community planning groups, Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act (TMA) planning councils and consortia, providers of HIV care, people living with HIV Disease, and others to advocate for reducing the gaps in existing resources. The data from MMP will provide an opportunity for policy decisions, resource allocation, and evaluation of prevention and treatment initiatives at the local and national levels to be based on population-based data.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 permits health care providers to disclose protected health information to public health authorities for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease; for example, as part of this public health surveillance project. For more information about INMMP and the MMP or other surveillance projects, please contact your state or local health department.
- Contact Information
Indiana Department of Health
Stephanie Lofton
Office: (317) 233-7647
slofton@health.in.gov