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To the Editor: Twenty years after the licensing of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody test, an estimated 252 000 to 312 000 US residents are unaware that they are infected with HIV.¹ To increase the number of infected persons who are aware of their status and can therefore benefit from treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended making HIV testing a routine part of medical care.² The new CDC testing guidelines specifically advise against using a separate written consent form for HIV tests. Whether elimination of the requirement for written consent will increase testing is not known.

In May 2006, the San Francisco Department of Public Health Medical Care System, which includes an acute care hospital, a long-term care facility, and more than 15 primary health care centers, eliminated the requirement for written consent. We assessed the association between this policy change and the rate of HIV . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Methods

Nicola M. Zetola, MD
Department of Medicine
University of California
San Francisco

Jeffrey D. Klausner, MD, MPH
jeff.klausner@sfdph.org
San Francisco Department of Public Health
San Francisco, Calif

Barbara Haller, MD, PhD; Patricia Nassos, PhD
Department of Laboratory Medicine
University of California
San Francisco

Mitchell H. Katz, MD
San Francisco Department of Public Health
San Francisco, Calif

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