AEGiS-06IAC: HIV reportability in a system with anonymous testing.

6th International AIDS Conference


San Francisco, California, USA — June 20-23, 1990

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HIV reportability in a system with anonymous testing.

Int Conf AIDS 1990 Jun 20-23; 6:332 (abstract no. Th.D.824)
Jolly DH, Blankenship E, Adimora A, Petz W, Owen-O'Dowd J, Randall-David E, Meriwether R; AIDS Control Branch Raleigh, NC, USA

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new system of HIV reporting by name, case follow-up, and partner notification that allows HIV positive persons tested at anonymous sites to remain anonymous to public health officials even after seeking medical follow-up.

DESCRIPTION: All 100 local health departments in North Carolina offer both anonymous and confidential HIV antibody testing. In June 1988, a statewide partner notification system was implemented to assist HIV positive persons in meeting a new legal obligation to notify sex and needle partners. In Feb. 1990, HIV infection became a reportable condition. Persons tested confidentially are reported by name; those tested anonymously are reported without personal identifiers. In other states with both reporting by name and anonymous testing, reporting requirements often compromise the anonymous testing system. This occurs when a person who has tested positive at an anonymous site seeks medical follow-up, is re-tested, and the physician reports the person by name as required by law. This compromise of anonymity can undermine trust in the HIV testing system. It can also result in erroneous case counts. If the case was previously reported without personal identifiers, there is no way to identify the named report as a duplicate and the case is counted twice. Using a system of letters from anonymous testing staff to private physicians, North Carolina has developed a method to reduce duplicate reports and allow persons testing positive at anonymous sites to seek medical care yet remain anonymous to public health officials.

CONCLUSION: HIV reporting by name, case follow-up, and partner notification can be implemented without compromising the integrity of anonymous testing.

Keywords: AEGIS, Contact Tracing, HIV Infections, HIV Antibodies, Anonymous Testing, Confidentiality, HIV Seropositivity, Names, North Carolina, ICA6KWDaegis,contacttracing,hivinfections,hivantibodies,anonymoustesting,confidentiality,hivseropositivity,names,northcarolina,ica6

900620
ThD824

Copyright © 1990 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.