Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Area Reporter - April 27, 2001
David Fraser
The new regulations call for reporting of HIV cases to the state.
Currently only AIDS cases are required to be reported, and those must be reported by the patient's name.
HIV reporting is mandatory in 47 other states but has thus far been precluded in California unless there is an AIDS diagnosis.
Announcement of the hearing and comment period comes amid concerns from HIV counselors at some Bay Area clinics about how effectively clients' privacy will be protected, especially if they test positive for HIV.
The regulations can be seen online at www.dhs.ca.gov/aids/.
The hearing is set for 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 16 in the auditorium at 714 P Street, Sacramento. Public comments can be made at the meeting.
The broader public comment period on the proposed rules began last month and ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, May 21. Comments can be submitted in writing to the Office of Regulations, Department of Health Services, 714 P Street, Room 1000, P.O. Box 942732, Sacramento, CA 94234-7320. Faxed comments can go to (916) 657-1459; e-mails to regulation@dhs.ca.gov.
All comments should include the author's name and mailing address so that DHS can provide copies of any proposed changes in the text for further comment. Remarks should use the department regulation control number R-19-00.
Inquiries on comment procedures can be directed to Barbara Gallaway, R.N. at the Office of Regulations at (916) 657-3197 or to Linda Tutor at (916) 654-0381. Questions on the substance of the regulations can go to Jim Creeger of the Office of AIDS at (916) 322-1065.
Locally, questions on the regulations or how they may affect actions by the San Francisco Department of Public Health can go to Dr. Sandy Schwarcz, director of AIDS Surveillance, at (415) 554-9000.
San Francisco DPH counseling and data testing forms currently being used by HIV clinics in the city use a coded identifier including letters from clients' surnames and last letter of mothers' maiden names. They also request information on race, gender, and sexual orientation and behavior. Under the proposed statewide regulations a "non-name code" combination of letters and numbers will be used to protect clients' privacy, said Vanessa Baird, assistant chief at the state's Office of AIDS in Sacramento.
"Anonymous testing is not part of this system," Baird told the Bay Area Reporter on Tuesday, April 24. "The CDC guidelines encourage states to maintain anonymous testing sites as an option to clients. We have the same philosophy, with no intention of removing anonymous testing sites. They're of the utmost importance for people who may be at risk."
The new rules, she said, apply to confidential sites, at which personal data is collected and coded.
"All state and local staff" who handle HIV surveys and reporting, Baird said, "are trained on current laws. The training makes it very clear that people are to be protected against inappropriate disclosure of HIV results. They know that the law protects clients, and that there are penalties for violation."
But an HIV counselor at the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic expressed skepticism. "The problem," said the counselor, who declined to be identified, "is that the new unique identifier codes [of the proposed regulations] ask for additional data which make it really, really easy to find out the person's name if you want to."
At the Berkeley Free Clinic, which has officially resisted the shrinking of anonymous testing, risk assessment forms are available, but they are not used.
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