The FOCUS Program is an initiative of the Government Affairs team at Gilead Sciences Inc. that ensures all eligible individuals have access to screening and linkage to care for HIV, HCV, HBV, and linkage to HIV comprehensive prevention services. The FOCUS program partners with healthcare and community-based organizations across the United States, Spain, and Portugal, to implement and share best practices following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The importance of routine, opt-out screening and linkage to care cannot be overstated – according to the CDC, 7 in 10 people with HIV saw a healthcare provider in the 12 months prior to diagnosis and failed to be diagnosed. With over 400 community and clinical partners (current and graduated), the FOCUS program has become the largest blood-borne virus screening and linkage to care program in the nation and has changed how communities view and do blood-borne virus screening. Drawing from experiences across the United States with the FOCUS program, our expert panel will discuss how the FOCUS approach has helped to reduce stigma, increase health equity, and bring to scale best practices honed through implementation science.