08.17.09 Foundation Applauds the VA for Eliminating Obstacles to HIV Testing

Today’s policy changes by the Veteran’s Health Administration aimed at facilitating HIV testing are a welcome step forward in making HIV testing a routine part of medical care, an effort long advocated by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs announced today that effective immediately HIV testing will be provided to all patients as part of routine medical care if they consent to it, not just to those with identified risk factors. In addition, VHA facilities will only require verbal consent for HIV testing, reversing a policy that required written informed consent and scripted test counseling.

“I commend the VA for implementing these critical policy changes,” said Mark Cloutier, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “Through its actions, the VA is helping to change attitudes about the importance of routine testing for HIV in the United States.”

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation has long advocated for expanded HIV screening and for removing barriers to HIV testing as crucial elements to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Foundation recently adopted a strategic goal of ensuring that everyone in San Francisco between the ages of 13 and 64 know their current HIV status, as part of an effort to radically reduce the number of new HIV infections in the city by 2015.

The new VA policies are now in line with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that eliminated both pre-test counseling and written consent. In 2006, the CDC recommended that medical facilities provide HIV testing for adults, adolescents and pregnant women ages 13 to 64. The revised recommendations sought to address the estimated 25 percent of Americans who are unaware that they are HIV positive.

For more information about the new VA guidelines, go to: http://www.hiv.va.gov/vahiv?page=pt-home