AIDS treatment specialists advocate aggressive (triple drug therapy) treatment of HIV/AIDS, but limited research suggests that this position is not widely held. Database studies are being used increasingly to provide information about patient behavior (e.g., identification of treatment regimens and adherence with treatment regimens). A retrospective database study was conducted to identify initial treatment regimens prescribed for patients, changes in treatment regimens over time, and patient adherence to their treatment regimens. Two patient cohorts were identified: one initiating therapy after triple drug therapy was introduced and before it was advocated as the treatment of choice; and one initiating therapy after triple drug therapy was advocated by HHS and the AMA. AIDS drugs prescriptions filled for a 12-month period following initiation of therapy were extracted from the database for each patient cohort. Findings indicate that 1) triple drug therapy is not widely prescribed as an initiation therapy, 2) after initiating therapy many patients must switch or augment their treatment regimens, and 3) after 12-months of therapy the triple drug regimen is still not widely prescribed. Finally, we conclude that the results of this study provide further evidence of the utility of retrospective database studies to provide health care providers with cost effective health care delivery information.