Withdrawal of consent letter results in increase in the number of HIV testers.
A change in the procedure for HIV testing is reported to increase the rate of HIV testing. This was disclosed by a study conducted by Dr. Nicola M. Zetola from the University of California, San Francisco.
Zetola and his team compared the HIV testing rates before and after the withdrawal of a procedure which insisted on the consent letter for AIDS testing. The monthly rate of HIV testing rose up from 13.5 HIV tests per 1000 patients to 17.9. This was much evident after the San Francisco Department of Public Health Medical Care System decided not to stress for a written consent letter for testing HIV.The average number of positive HIV tests also rose to 30.6 from 20.6 after this procedural change. Zetola says that further study is needed to establish a link between a simple procedural change and HIV testing. He also adds that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should suggest that HIV testing should be made a part of health care facilities and don’t demand a separate consent letter from patients for such tests.
Source-IANS
JYT
