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medpundit |
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Thursday, October 13, 2005Officials at the Food and Drug Administration and AIDS advocates long worried that people who got an AIDS diagnosis would panic and even consider suicide. So for years, the federal drug officials have insisted that counseling and professional support accompany AIDS tests. This requirement has complicated proposals for at-home tests. Those concerns always seemed mis-placed, and the restrictions that have been put in place for HIV testing because of them have undoubtedly reduced the rate of HIV testing. HIV testing is the only blood test I can think of that requires patients sign a document stating they are aware that the test is being done, that they aren't being coerced, and that they understand counselling is available to them should the test be positive. The paperwork is a barrier to performing the test. It's a pain to hunt down the state-sanctioned form, get it signed, copied, and sent to the lab. Producing the document to sign also suggests to the patient that this isn't any routine blood test - this is a test that could ruin his life. It makes the whole process much more dramatic than it needs to be. As a result, doctors often encourage their patients to either have the test done at the health department, where it's annonymous. Making the test available for at-home use will likely increase the number of people who get tested. That's a good first step. Now, let's get rid of those paperwork requirements for office and hospital testing and treat it like we do every other diagnostic blood test. posted by Sydney on 10/13/2005 08:41:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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