MINNESOTA HIV HBV JOINT TASK-FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Minnesota HIV/HBV Joint Task Force was formed in response to public concern over the potential spread of the human immunodeficiency virus and the hepatitis B virus in the health care setting. The task force included representatives from medical, nursing, and dental societies; hospital associations; and the Center for Biomedical Ethics. Representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health and the boards of dentistry and medicine provided technical assistance. The task force's efforts resulted in the following recommendations for preventing the spread of HIV and HBV in the health care delivery system.* The task force based its recommendations on federal law and Centers for Disease Control guidelines and intended that they be used as principles to guide legislative efforts. The task force believes that legislation based on its recommendations will lead to a rational approach for managing HIV infection control in the health care setting. Specifically, the recommendations attempt to meet the following goals: enhance trust in the health professions; continue to provide an infection-control system for the prevention of HIV transmission from infected health care workers to patients; enhance the current system of oversight, which is based on scientific expertise and encourages health care workers to seek treatment and counseling; continue to provide an efficient, cost-effective, and flexible system capable of change within the rapidly changing environment that surrounds this issue; enhance the current system of infection control, which provides a comprehensive and consistent method of infection control for both licensed and unlicensed health care workers; and continue to provide a process that protects the due process and privacy rights of health care workers and that maintains consistency with state and federal antidiscrimination laws.