The Pros of Mandatory HIV Testing and Disclosure of HIV Status

In contrast if the patient still insists on not telling the partner on their situation, even though I am going to still make the report but I will also try to make efforts to educate the client to notify the partners. There would be ways to strategies to encourage and ensure the patient to willingly notify their partner. Part of my strategy would be to; i) couple counselling, even if there is some reluctance to continue., ii) educating them on the benefits of disclosure, iii) seeking consent from the patients to directly inform their partners in the patients' presence in scenarios where patients lacked the courage to do so personally, and iv) I would try to contact the people involved in this situation that they are in the possibility of exposure to HIV without releasing the identity of my client (Njozing et al.2011)

I think it’s a part of the doctors’ responsibility to keep a good professional relationship with one’s patients. Collins states “those who do not want to know, and who if they were told would be injured by it; those who are wholly incapable of receiving the truth.” (pg.193). Going back to the client relationship models Collins believes that doctors should use a parent model on their patients. The parent model is when doctors have more experience and knowledge that they use to make decisions without telling the patients about their own health as if they were a child. This model and view basically strips the patient from autonomy and the choice of making his or her own decisions. In a whole, this premise is wrong because patients should have the right to make their own decisions when it comes to their own health.

Overall, both sides of the argument make very valid points when it comes to patient/partner confidentiality, autonomy, and the moral obligation of the individuals who willing know that they are infected with HIV/AIDS to tell their sexual partner. As stated before, I firmly believe that any individual who engages in sexual activity with a partner are ethically and morally obligated to tell them if they are aware that they are in fact carrying the HIV/AIDS virus. To me, this is a very important aspect to help in the prevention and control of the deadly epidemic of the HIV/AIDS virus. Quite simply put, “the individual who knows that he is HIV seropositive or who has reason to believe that he may be, has a moral duty to forewarn prospective partners of his HIV status and is responsible for their fate if he does not” (Erin & Harris,

What are standard precautions? How do they impact the nursing profession? These are all valid questions that need further investigation. Set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), standard precautions are a set of practices that help guide nurses to prevent and control infectious diseases from spreading (Efstathiou, Papastavrou, Raftopoulos, & Merkouris, 2011, p. 1). There is no question that nurses are at a particularly higher risk of occupational exposure. Koutoukidis, Stainton, and Hughson (2016) explain that regardless of the patient’s diagnosis, presumed infectious status, and the setting in which the patient is in, nurses should always implement standard precautions (p. 483). The high stake profession leaves nurses

HIV and AIDS are two very serious diseases which first came known and reported in the U.S. in 1981. Today it is estimated that 1.7 million people in the U.S. have been infected with HIV since that date 619,000 people have already died from it. The CDC, (Center For Disease Control) estimates that every one in five people living with HIV, are unaware that they even have it. With a serious medical condition such as this, it is good that the HIPAA privacy act exists because the privacy of every patient’s medical information, including any information about AIDS and HIV, will be protected and is to

People that have AIDS or HIV are more sensitive to sharing their health information than others because it could cost them their job. The people that contract these diseases are subject to scrutiny from the public. Since people automatically think that they are gay or lesbian but they are not the only ones that can get HIV or AIDS. When a person is revealed to have HIV or AIDS, he or she may be immediately discriminated against. HIV and AIDS require lifetime treatment that is very expensive to treat (HHS.gov, 2006). Unauthorized disclosure of a person’s positive HIV or AIDS status can lead to job loss; cancellation of insurance; evictions; and loss of friends and colleagues. The United States has developed a set of standards to keep a person’s HIV or AIDS status confidential as well as their other medical conditions. This is called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. All information is kept private from anyone except that person a

The short answer is, no. Collecting and receiving information about a possible threat to public health is sanctioned under HIPAA Privacy Rule. Although permission is not needed to report a communicable disease, the patient is notified of exposure to prevent or control any epidemic. Often times the patient is encouraged to speak with their spouses/partners, if they refuse to do so, it falls under the physicians responsibility to seek out those partners. Public health and safety is very important.

Truth-telling is an important issue within the nurse-patient relationship. Nurses make decisions on a daily basis regarding what information to tell patients. The specific issue in question is whether a nurse should abide by the Code of Ethics for Nurses by revealing the truth to the patient or refrain from telling the truth to the patient because they are respecting the wishes of the patient’s family. Nurses and health care professionals should always tell the truth to their patients unless the patient forgoes their rights to autonomy or cannot think for themselves. By providing the patient with the truth, they allow the patient to come to terms with their conditions and give them the options for further treatment.

On January 4th, 2014 Jane, who is a Medical Technologist checks-in ER where she works due to an illness and not feeling so good. Doctor orders routine lab tests, including HIV 1/2. One of the technologists Sarah, who is her coworker performs the rapid HIV immediately. Her HIV Test becomes positive and to be specific, it was positive for p24 antigen. Sarah conveyed the information to her best friend who also works in the laboratory. All this information eventually was passed on to me as a compliance officer. Britch of confidentiality, in this case, is a clear HIPAA violation and thereby disclosing Protected Health Information to others are violating the law. I interviewed all of the staff who were

Among reviewing CNAs at a long-term care facility, it was seen that some CNA’s did not take off their gloves between giving perineal care of a patient after the patient used the bathroom and the CNA reached for the patient’s attire to put on the patient for that day. The CNA put every patient at risk of contracting the infection and the patients clothes could have became a source of C-diff. There are many cases similar to the one above where health workers are in a rush and do not perform their job/skills that they have been taught correctly. Health workers being in a rush also is due to shortage of staff. The CNAs at the long term facility discussed in this paragraph work a 9:1 ratio, which causes challenges for the health workers to give quality care to the patients.

There are three main HIV reporting systems which physician are required to use in making a report, name based reporting, code based reporting and name to code reporting. However, physicians and laboratories in the United States are required to report to local and health departments using the reporting system, although the requirements differ among states. As a matter of fact, reporting and notification helps in informing individuals about the possible risk of being HIV positive, receive HIV counseling and testing, and most importantly help them get appropriate medical care. Although individuals may be discouraged from undergoing testing if they know someone will notify their contacts. Similarly, some individuals threaten to discontinue the course of treatments if their status is revealed to

Evan and the other patients have a right to confidentiality; therefore, legally his HIV status cannot be disclosed to the other patients (HIV/Psychiatric manual, 1997). In assessing Evan's rights and the duties of the nurse, Evan has a right to confidentiality, trust, informed treatment decisions and quality care. An Bord Analtrais "Code of Professional Conduct" (2000) states that the nurse is obliged to dutifully undertake these rules. However, Claire's health and that of the former partner are at stake. The nurse will break the confidentiality and trust rules by telling Claire of Evan's illness. The nurse has a responsibility towards other professionals therefore informed decisions and quality care will not be carried out until information of Evan's HIV status is divulged. The last aspect of "Defining the Problem", is to recognise the main ethical problem to be addressed which is whether or not to dismiss patient-nurse confidentiality and trust in order to get adequate healthcare for Claire and Evan's other partner.

Many individuals are afraid to get tested for HIV and are afraid of the stigma associated with HIV when disclosing their status to partners. They are often subject to their own psychological and other social stress which often hinders appropriate management of the infection. This is not always without reason as disclosure of an HIV status can lead to exclusion from ones family, friend-circle or dismissal from the workplace. However disclose to a family member, partner or friend can provide psychological and later physical support. Also the fear of individuals they love finding out that they are HIV positive may lead to anxiety or isolation. Non-disclosure can often affect healthcare and management of the persons’ disease as the fear of dependents finding out will require the individual to hide taking the medication and use personal funds to pay for treatment to avoid the medical insurance company from informing co-dependants (Alonzo & Renolds 1995).

In the last three decades HIV/ AIDS has become the one of the most notorious and widely spread diseases in the modern world. Its discovery in the late seventies prompted worldwide concern. The one thing that has become the most bothersome thing about the HIV/ AIDS epidemic is prevention. Prevention or stopping the transmission of the diseases is hindered by factors such as: denial or non-acceptance by infected persons, unsafe sex, and non-disclosure by infected persons to their at risk sexual partner(s). According to Alghazo, Upton, and Cioe (2011):

Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional reasons (Code of Ethics NASW, 2008). Since Mary is HIV+ it is important that she informs her sexual partners of her disease since it can possibly lead to AIDS which may lead to death. However the social worker is obligated to keep her information confidential unless legality issues arise. Such laws include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1966 (HIPPA). A major goal of this act is to insure that individuals’ health information is protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide high quality health care and to protect the public's health and well being (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2016). Since Mary has informed her social worker that she will be telling her sexual partners soon, Mary is upholding the law and the social worker does not have to mandate and break confidentiality. If Mary had told the social workers that she was not going to inform her sexual partners, the social worker would have to report to their supervisor since Mary would have been putting others at risk. The social worker would also have to report if Mary was planning on having sex with someone without informing them of her disease, as it would be considered harm to others. This possible breach in confidentiality is an ethical