HIV and ID Observations

June 29th, 2012

HIV Testing Roundup, and a Brief Rant

I’ve written so many times about HIV testing that a complete list of the headlines fills two full web pages. But since the last entry on the topic was more than a month ago, one might think I’ve lost interest in the topic. Never! Three items on the HIV Testing radar, two national, one local. First, for a classic […]

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September 22nd, 2011

Common Sense on HIV Testing

There’s an editorial in today’s Boston Globe that concisely (188 words) describes the problems with both the current and proposed HIV testing laws in Massachusetts. I’ve not been shy about the fact that I agree with every word of this piece. And though I strongly recommend reading the whole editorial — it’s very well written — if you […]

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August 19th, 2011

A Reason To Continue Restrictive HIV Testing Laws? Not Really …

The pending HIV legislation is much on my mind these days, for reasons I outlined here. Bottom line is that I don’t think it’s good for patient care, and we’re missing a real opportunity to make things better here in the Bay State. But yesterday I heard a perspective on the bill I hadn’t considered, and […]

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August 3rd, 2011

Why the Proposed Massachusetts HIV Testing Bill is Bad for Patients

As I’ve written about here multiple times, I’m not a big fan of the HIV testing law in our state. First, there’s the requirement for written informed consent, something that every state (except a couple) has wisely abandoned. Second, it’s more than a testing law — it’s also an HIV privacy law, which is arguably unnecessary […]

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August 3rd, 2010

HIV Testing: NY Makes Progress; Massachusetts … Not So Much

From the office of New York Governor David Paterson: The Governor signed into law S.8227/A.11487, which will allow patients to agree to HIV testing as part of a general signed consent to medical care that remains in effect until it is revoked or expires. The bill will also, among other things:  allow oral consent to an HIV […]

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October 31st, 2009

Would Changing Restrictive HIV Testing Laws Improve Survival?

Emphatically yes — to the tune of >600,000* years of life gained nationwide.  So says a nifty paper being presented at the annual IDSA meeting today by Mike April, under the direction of Rochelle Walensky. (*Original abstract said 549,437, cited in the link; number at the actual presentation, though, was 609,656.) Bottom line is that laws that […]

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October 5th, 2009

No Baseball Tonight

“Are you writing another funny blog post because there’s no baseball?” asks my son J. As “funny” is very much in the eye of the beholder, that remains to be seen.  But here are a few things on my mind the last few days: No data supporting N95 over surgical masks for flu.  One huge logistical issue […]

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