NEGATIVE — MEDICAL — DISADVANTAGES 260

PRIVACY CONTROLS WILL PREVENT THE SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO STOP SPREAD OF HIV AND OTHER STDS

PRIVACY LAWS DAMAGE ATTEMPTS TO STOP THE SPREAD OF HIV

M. Gregory Carbone The Washington Post January 15, 2000, SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A23; TITLE: HIV in the Open // acs-EE2001

In the United States, voluminous privacy laws assiduously protect the anonymity of HIV carriers so that they can continue to spread it. Those not infected have been deprived of their right to know who is infected so they may avoid intimate contact.

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PRIVACY LAWS ARE THE REASON WHY HIV RATW IS TWO TO THREE TIMES HIGHER THAN REPORTED, AND WHY PEOPLE EXPOSED TO HIV CANNOT BE NOTIFIED

M. Gregory Carbone The Washington Post January 15, 2000, SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A23; TITLE: HIV in the Open // acs-EE2001

Privacy laws obstruct routine efficient testing for HIV at the physician's discretion by requiring written consent plus counseling before testing. It is estimated that incidence of HIV is two or three times greater than the reported numbers. These laws also prevent routine notification of those exposed to an HIV carrier by requiring the patient's signed consent or a court order.

RIGHT TO PRIVACY CAN BE USED TO STOP THOSE WHO NEED HELP FROM GETTING IT

ROBYN SARAH, The Gazette (Montreal), March 4, 2000, SECTION: Editorial / Op-ed; B5 TITLE: Limits of privacy: Our laws too often shield children and people who are confused, vulnerable or self-destructive // acs-VT2001

Should the right of privacy automatically extend to a person whose behaviour or situation appears destructive or self-destructive? Should special provisions apply to parents of minors? These aren't easy questions for a society that upholds individual freedom of choice. As stands, the law does serve to shield some minors from harmful interventions by indisputably dysfunctional parents. But too often its effect may be to protect the confused, the frightened and the vulnerable from caring parents' best intentions.

UNENCUMBERED HIV TESTING WOULD REDUCE INFANT HIV INCIDENCE

M. Gregory Carbone The Washington Post January 15, 2000, SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A23; TITLE: HIV in the Open // acs-EE2001

We could almost eliminate AIDS in infants by unencumbered routine testing of all pregnant women and all newborn babies followed by treatment of those who test positive. After a 13-year struggle, New Jersey has instituted mandatory testing and treatment of newborns with excellent results.

SHARING AIDS TREATMENT INFORMATION ASSISTS IN TREATMENT AND CARE

Appleby USA TODAY, June 21, 1999, SECTION: LIFE; Pg. 5D, TITLE: AIDS patients to share treatment data on line; Privacy, accuracy are concerns in effort to spread knowledge // acs-VT2001

A coalition of AIDS activists, computer experts and health insurers today will launch what could become the largest database of private medical records on the Internet. The goal of the Treatment Data Project is to get AIDS patients to voluntarily track their experiences with the growing array of AIDS treatments available, then share those experiences with other patients on line. Doing so could help patients spot the potential benefits and problems associated with various treatments without waiting for the results of controlled clinical trials. Although significant concerns remain about privacy and accuracy, the Internet information swap could represent a new way to research treatments for a variety of illnesses.

WE MAY NEED TO COMPROMISE PRIVACY IN ORDER TO TRACK SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

EVELYN NIEVES, The New York Times, August 25, 1999, SECTION: Section A; Page 1; TITLE: Privacy Questions Raised in Cases Of Syphilis Linked to Chat Room // acs-EE2001

In what health officials believe is the first time a disease cluster has been traced to cyberspace, the department of public health here has tracked an outbreak of syphilis cases to an America Online chat room.

Officials from the San Francisco Department of Public Health said six men who had contracted syphilis in the last three months have traced their last sexual encounters to partners they met through a chat room created by an America Online member, San Francisco Men 4 Men (SFM4M). The case is a new development for public health officials who traditionally define an affected group by the members' physical proximity or relation and poses a question for the electronic age: when does the right to on-line privacy yield to public health issues?

Some of the men who were infected with syphilis know their multiple partners only by their computer nicknames, or "handles." While such anonymity could be an obstacle to public health officials in other cases, say among people who met in a bar, in this case, America Online knows the participants' real names but would not divulge them. So the only way to contact the scores of sex partners the syphilis-infected men met on line has been through E-mail and postings in the chat room itself.