The Oregon Health Division is doing a disservice to the community by requiring health care providers to report names of all people who test positive for HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS. The state should drop this requirement and allow complete anonymity.
As of Oct. 1, the Oregon Department of Human Services began its new reporting system, which keeps the names of patients in a database until their case report has been completed. DHS will then assign a unique identification number to each case, which begs the question: Why not simply use a number in the first place? The threat of possibly being identified when testing for HIV and AIDS may deter people who fear they have the virus from being tested.
The University Health Center is also required to submit names of those who test positive, and the fear factor of being revealed as having HIV or AIDS, especially on such a small campus, is detrimental to the success of student health care.
Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to having HIV or AIDS, and that makes it insensitive of the Oregon Health Division to require identification. Although the reasoning behind the new policy is to provide state health officials with more accurate numbers, the bottom line is that officials can just as easily track patients anonymously.