I recently noticed a new entry in my dialysis records: a Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score of 8. For anyone unfamiliar with it, the CCI is a tool used in healthcare to estimate the impact of different long‑term conditions on a person’s overall health outlook.

Naturally, I checked how this score is calculated using publicly available tools such as the Omni Calculator and MDCalc. Based on my own health conditions, the only way to reach a score as high as 8 would be if the person completing the form had classified me as having AIDS.

Let me be very clear: I am living with HIV, and I am on effective treatment. That is not the same thing as having AIDS.

In the CCI scoring system:

• AIDS is scored as 6
• Chronic kidney disease is scored as 2

Those numbers add neatly to 8 — but they do not reflect my actual clinical status.

The nurse who completed the score isn’t here today, but I will be checking with them to understand how they arrived at that number. It’s important to clarify, not to point fingers, but to ensure that my records accurately reflect my health.

This matters. Not because a number defines me, but because accuracy in medical records affects how people are understood, treated, and supported within the healthcare system. It also reflects how society continues to misunderstand HIV.

People living with HIV who are on effective treatment:

• Do not have AIDS
• Can live long, healthy lives
• Should not be automatically placed in categories that no longer apply
• Deserve to have their records reflect current medical reality, not outdated assumptions

HIV and AIDS are not interchangeable terms. Conflating them reinforces stigma and leads to errors that can have real‑world consequences.

If we want healthcare to be person‑centred, respectful, and evidence‑based, then getting these distinctions right is essential.