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Survey on Testing Criteria and Reporting Methods for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Serologic Tests in Veterans Administration Medical Centers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Susan Mottice ,
Sego Matsumiya  and
Larry Reimer
Susan Mottice
Affiliation:
Departments of Pathology, Salt Lake City Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of Utah Medical Center
Sego Matsumiya
Affiliation:
Departments of Pathology, Salt Lake City Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of Utah Medical Center
Larry Reimer*
Affiliation:
Departments of Pathology, Salt Lake City Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of Utah Medical Center
*
Department of Pathology (113), VA Medical Center, 500 Foothill Blvd., Salt Lake City, UT 84148
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Abstract

Guidelines for the indications for use, requirements for consent, and mechanisms for reporting of serologic tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are not standardized. In trying to establish such guidelines for our hospital, we surveyed all Veterans Administration Medical Centers regarding their current approach to testing both patients and employees. Infection control practitioners from 67 hospitals representing 37 states responded. Patients are likely to be tested for diverse reasons, unlikely to be counseled about the test or be required to consent to it, and test results are given no special precautions. Although 66% of the respondents do not use any extra precautions concerning patient confidentiality, 80% utilize more stringent criteria for testing and result-reporting with employees than patients. Thus, while the majority of hospitals maintain that current modes of confidentiality are acceptable for patients, practice suggests that these modes are considered inadequate for employees.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 8 , Issue 10 , October 1987 , pp. 407 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1987

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