HIV/AIDS Glossary

Making changes to an HIV treatment regimen to make medication adherence easier. Simplifying an HIV regimen can include reducing the number of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in the regimen or changing to a combination ARV drug that provides a one-pill, once-daily complete regimen. Other changes can include switching to ARV drugs that cause fewer adverse effects or to ARV drugs that can be taken without food. Benefits of regimen simplification include long-term medication adherence, reduced risk of treatment failure, and improved quality of life.