Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - Wednesday, October 28, 1998
Robin Estrin, Associated Press Writer
The Department of Public Health will not receive names of patients from physicians, but codes that will keep the identities secret. Patients will be identified by age, sex, race, hometown and how the AIDS virus was transmitted.
The state already requires doctors to report cases of full-blown AIDS. The regulation approved Tuesday is intended to help public health officials track the virus. The policy will be reviewed after two years.
State officials estimate that some 45,000 of the 6 million Massachusetts residents are living with HIV. About 80 percent of people with HIV do not meet the medical definition for AIDS.
"This will tell us where these people are and what we need to do for them," said Jean McGuire, director of the state's HIV-AIDS bureau.
The regulations mean doctors must report current and active cases of HIV to the state, not just new cases. Health officials expect it will take about 12 months for all doctors to comply.
"What we have accomplished is doing everything we can to fully suppress the virus and fully support the people who suffer from the virus," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. David Koh. "That is a worthy public health goal."
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