New HIV Monitoring Service 22/9/2000 Details of the drug regimes used to treat over 3,000 HIV patients across five key European markets, plus the specialists’ reasons for choosing those regimes, form the basis of a new continuous survey launched by TNS Healthcare this month. HIV Monitor is expected to be of great significance. The latest figures from the World Health Organisation on current estimated numbers of HIV infected adult patients in the five key countries covered by the survey are: France - 130,000 Germany - 37,000 Italy - 95,000 Spain - 120,000 UK - 30,000 Fieldwork starts in mid September in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. A panel of 40 specialists per country - targeting key regional HIV specialists -will be selected to take part. The study will be conducted monthly among a proportion of this total base, and will provide quarterly information for clients. According to TNS Healthcare Associate Director, Sara Hancock, "The specialists will be asked to provide details about, for example, the diagnosis, transmission and therapies prescribed amongst a range of the HIV patients they see. Once a year they will also be asked to fill in an attitudinal questionnaire, which will reveal not only the drug regimes they use, but also what is driving their choice." “This new service will allow our clients to monitor a combination of newly diagnosed HIV patients, along with existing patients, on both changing and static therapy. It will provide vital information on doctor behaviour and attitudes as well as full patient profiles, including details of routes of infection. All this data will, at the same time, allow key cross-country comparisons. "The quarterly frequency, combined with detailed attitudinal data, will provide very good coverage of all issues surrounding therapy dynamics. This information will be enhanced due to the way in which we will specify the patients for inclusion in the study," Ms Hancock concluded.