HEALTHCDC wants routine HIV testing for allThe recommendations also are expected to relax requirements for extensive pretest counseling in the medical office setting.By Victoria Stagg Elliott, amednews staff. June 5, 2006. In order to increase the number of people aware of their HIV status and encourage physician office-based testing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intends to release guidelines as early as this month urging that everyone between ages 13 and 64 be tested for the virus at least once in their lives. In addition, extensive pretest counseling will no longer be recommended if the test occurs in a medical office. "We need to expand access to HIV testing dramatically by making it a routine part of medical care," said Kevin Fenton, MD, PhD, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. This move is the latest in a series of public health efforts to help people infected with HIV receive treatment early in the viral course, when interventions are most effective. Experts believe this window is often missed because infection status is not known. In addition to improving outcomes for those who already carry the virus, officials also note that increased testing may reduce transmission because people are more likely to change their behavior if they know they are putting others in jeopardy. "If you identify those who have it, they can be treated. They can prevent spread to others," said Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, speaker of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates. "Testing should be more routine." The CDC recommendations are generally consistent with AMA policies, which also state that the physician's office and other medical settings are the preferred venues for HIV testing, and that physicians should work to make counseling and testing more available in these places. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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