THE HIV-INFECTED HEALTH-CARE WORKER - ANOTHER AIDS POLICY CONUNDRUM

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released recommendations about HIV-infected health care workers last year. Because of the major concerns expressed by many medical specialty societies, the CDC has indicated plans to review and revise the recommendations. However, Congress passed legislation that required states to implement the CDC guidelines or to develop equivalent state guidelines. A paradox arose when these guidelines became the law: The voluntary nature associated with a guideline was compromised by the involuntary nature inherent in a statute. The author believes that it does not make sense to spend as much as $1 billion on testing health care workers for human immunodeficiency virus.