AIDS testing and informed consent. NLM AIDSLINE Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

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AIDS testing and informed consent.

J Health Polit Policy Law. 1988 Winter;13(4):607-21. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/89176026
Swartz MS; Thomas Jefferson University.

Abstract: This article examines whether hospitals should obtain specific informed consent for HIV testing in addition to the general consent for routine procedures that is obtained upon admission. The article argues that specific consent should be obtained in all instances in which the HIV test is ordered. When the test is ordered to protect health care workers rather than to benefit the patient, the patient must be informed of the true purpose of the test: special care must be taken to avoid claims of fraud or duress that might invalidate the patient's consent. Furthermore, testing patients for the sole purpose of protecting health care workers should be discouraged, since the protection of health care workers can already be accomplished through universal blood and bodily fluid precautions. In balancing the inconvenience caused by universal blood and bodily fluid precautions against the privacy rights of patients, the patients' rights should prevail.
Keywords: *AIDS Serodiagnosis/PSYCHOLOGY/STANDARDS Human Informed Consent/*LEGISLATION & JURISPRUD *Legislation, Hospital Patient Care Team/STANDARDS Physician's Role United States JOURNAL ARTICLE

KWDaidsserodiagnosis/psychology/standardshumaninformedconsent/KWDlegislation&jurisprudKWDlegislation,hospitalpatientcareteam/standardsphysician'sroleunitedstatesjournalarticle
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Copyright © 1989 - National Library of Medicine. Reproduced under license with the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.

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