New guidelines for HIV testing

Earlier this month the Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, released new guidelines for HIV testing which encourage all patients between the ages of 18 and 70 to have an HIV test. The guidelines—a first in Canada—mean patients will now be offered an HIV test as part of their routine care  in hospital or the community.

The guidelines were developed by a provincial working group of physicians and nurses, and were heavily influenced by data collected through Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care’s STOP HIV project. The pilot, which began in October 2011, involved routine HIV testing of patients at Vancouver General, St. Paul’s and Mount Saint Joseph hospitals. Since then, more than 60 individuals have been diagnosed with HIV, meaning they could receive treatment earlier and reduce the risk of transmission to others.

“Our pilot data were instrumental in the development of these guidelines ” says Medical Health Officer Dr. Réka Gustafson. “The hard work and dedication of our physicians and nurses helped us discover that routine testing not only leads to earlier diagnosis, but it was also acceptable to the majority of patients.  We would just like to take the opportunity to thank all the physicians and nurses across VCH and PHC who worked on this project, because we couldn’t have done it without them.”

Over the past two decades, the number of confirmed cases and deaths from HIV have dropped by more than 90 per cent in BC. As with all medical tests, the patient has the right to refuse an HIV test and only those patients able to make a decision on their own should be offered one.

More information can be found at www.hivguide.ca