American Academy of HIV Medicine Applauds Signing of HIV Testing Bill in Pennsylvania
AAHIVM Pennsylvania Members Instrumental in Working with Legislators to Update State Testing Laws
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), the nation's leading HIV care provider organization, praised the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor Tom Corbett today for signing into law legislation sponsored by state Senator Ted Erickson that reduces barriers to routine HIV testing.
The newly enacted Act 59 (formally Senate Bill 260) eliminates burdensome requirements for HIV testing, and brings Pennsylvania state law on HIV testing more in line with current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to the bill's passage, Pennsylvania was one of only five states in the U.S. that still mandated some combination of separate written consent and pre-and-post-test counseling requirements for all patients taking an HIV test, regardless of risk factors or results.
"The passage of this bill is a real victory for prevention," said Mary van den Berg-Wolf, MD, FACP, AAHIVS, Temple University School of Medicine and chair of the AAHIVM Pennsylvania steering committee. "By making testing for HIV less cumbersome, we will be able to identify infected individuals earlier, which leads to better health outcomes for the patient and reduced transmission in the population."
The CDC estimates that more than 25% of all HIV-infected individuals are unaware they are HIV positive and over half of new infections are caused by that percentage of unaware individuals. Studies have also shown that people who know their HIV status are more likely to take precautions so as not to expose others to the disease.
Members of AAHIVM's Pennsylvania Chapter participated in educational outreach to state House and Senate offices, focused on the need to reduce logistical barriers to clinicians and other providers implementing routine HIV testing. The participating AAHIVM Members emphasized routine testing as an important practice for identifying infected persons early in the disease so that they can be linked to lifesaving HIV treatment.
"This is a reflection of our Members working together in a grassroots way to achieve a positive outcome for the state of Pennsylvania," said James M. Friedman, executive director of AAHIVM. "Our chapter Members worked diligently for several years to provide a clinical perspective to legislators and health officials, allowing them to make an informed decision on the need for an updated HIV testing law."
AAHIVM Members also worked with officials from the PA Department of Health to develop recommendations regarding updating the old state laws in routine testing. Several AAHIVM were part of a committee that years ago, developed a set of recommendation, on which several provisions of Act 59 were based.
The American Academy of HIV Medicine is a professional organization that supports the HIV practitioner and promotes accessible, quality care for all Americans living with HIV disease.
SOURCE American Academy of HIV Medicine
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