80. #femDR Series: HIV & AIDS Advocate Avi Varma MD

 Dr. Avi Varma, a Co-Host of the Brown Girl White Coat Podcast, has spent her career dedicated to public health as a family practitioner in Atlanta, Georgia, for uninsured/underinsured HIV and AIDS patients. She currently serves the community as a medical doctor while she's working towards a Masters in Public Health.  Dr. Varma explains how far we have come with HIV and AIDS treatments, the present reality of living with HIV or AIDS, and what we can still do better.  Included in this conversation:

How she hopes to serve the public with a MPH
Medical school "culture"
What really makes a good doctor
How health insurance often dictates medical care
The "business" of medicine
Stats: 1 in 7 people don't even know they are HIV positive.
HIV vs. AIDS (Do you know the difference)?
HIV is forever (for now)
AIDS can be temporary 
How AIDS affects the immune system
The current state of HIV/AIDS treatment
How COVID impacted HIV/AIDS treatment 
Public Service Announcement
Could COVID have bee handled better?
What is "academic medicine"?

Learn more about Dr. Varma at https://www.avivarmamd.com/

Educate yourself. Learn more about AIDS (and other infectious diseases) here: https://www.idsociety.org/ 

Here too: https://www.hiv.gov/

You can follow Dr. Varma on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/dr.avivarma/

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