HIV testing.

Existing law requires a medical care provider, prior to ordering an HIV test, to, among other things, provide information about the test, inform the patient that there are numerous treatment options available for a patient who tests positive for HIV, and inform the patient that a person who tests negative for HIV should continue to be routinely tested. Existing law, with specified exceptions, requires a written statement documenting the test subject's informed consent prior to the performance of an HIV test. Existing law exempts from these provisions HIV tests that are independently requested by the patient from specified providers. This bill would require that the medical care provider or the person who administers the test also provide a patient with specified information after the test results are received. The bill would require informed consent, as specified, either orally or in writing, except when a person independently requests an HIV test from an HIV counseling and testing site, as specified. The bill would require the person administering a test for a provider covered by the exemption to document the person's independent request for the test. The bill would also exempt clinical laboratories from the informed consent requirements. This bill would require every patient who has blood drawn at a primary care clinic, as defined, and who has consented to the test to be offered an HIV test, consistent with the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for screening, and would specify the manner in which the results of that test are provided. Existing law regulates the disclosure of test results for HIV and other diseases. Existing law prohibits the disclosure of HIV test results by Internet posting or other electronic means unless the patient requests the disclosure, the healthcare professional deems it appropriate, and the health care professional has first discussed the results in person or over the phone. This bill would authorize disclosure of HIV test results by Internet posting or other electronic means if the HIV test subject is anonymously tested and the result is posted on a secure Internet Web site and can only be viewed with the use of a secure code that can access only a single set of test results and that is provided to the patient at the time of testing.