The HIV-testing policies of US hospitals
C. E. Lewis and K. Montgomery
Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles 90024.
To determine the human immunodeficiency virus-testing policies adopted by
US hospitals, we surveyed a stratified random sample of all nonfederal
general acute care hospitals, drawn from the American Hospital
Association's 1987 database. Interviews were completed with the chief
administrator in 561 hospitals (response rate, 78.4%). Two thirds of
hospitals have admitted at least one patient with the acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome, and over 83% have formal written policies about
human immunodeficiency virus testing. Most contain provisions protecting
patients' rights; eg, 78% require pretest informed consent, 66% require a
special human immunodeficiency virus-testing consent form, and 75% require
that patients who test seropositive be so informed. Many policies also
contain provisions that protect providers; eg, 56% require that test
results appear in patients' records, 38% require review of treatment plans
when a patient tests seropositive, and 3% require transferring such
patients. Hospital characteristics are not strongly associated with the
adoption of testing policies.
