Re-examining ethical obligations in the intensive care unit: HIV disclosure to surrogates

Table 1 Laws of the 53 US states and territories: physician's disclosure of a patient's HIV status^a

Physician notification to a third party	No. of states (percent)	States
Required^b	1 (1)	Michigan
Permitted^c	10 (19)	Arizona, California, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas
Prohibited^d	11 (21)	Alaska, Arkansas, Washington, DC, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia
No guidelines^e	31 (59)	Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virgin Islands, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

^aIncludes all 50 US states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. ^bThe state law contains a specific statement that a health care provider (not a health agency) has a duty to disclose a patient's HIV status to at risk third parties under certain circumstances (for example, when the infected index patient refuses to disclose such information, or as long as the anonymity of the index patient is maintained). ^cThe state law neither requires nor prohibits but does allow a health care provider to disclose a patient's HIV status to at risk third parties (certain restrictions may apply, such as a requirement that physicians first encourage the index patient to disclose their status themselves). ^dThe state law contains a specific statement that a health care provider may not notify at risk third parties of a patient's HIV status. States encourage or allow court-ordered testing for HIV or third-party notification of a patient's HIV status in cases of sexual assault; however, these states also prohibit such practices in other cases, and are classified as prohibiting physician disclosure. ^eThere are no specific state laws regarding a physician's disclosure of a patient's HIV status to at risk third parties. States make no general comment on third-party notification, but require or prohibit it in cases of sexual assault; these are classified as providing no guidelines.

ISSN: 1364-8535