Bronco_Beerslug
09-21-2006, 09:09 AM
As part of regular checkups. Everyone from 13 to 64 to identify and treat the over 250,000 Americans who have HIV and don't know it.
So happens I just bought OSUR (OraSure Technologies) yesterday, sometimes you get lucky (http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/542/osurzo2.png) :)
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CDC backs HIV test for all between 13-64
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer 4 minutes ago
ATLANTA - All Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 should be routinely tested for
HIV to help catch infections earlier and stop the spread of the deadly virus, federal health recommendations announced Thursday say.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said HIV testing should become about as common as a cholesterol check. Nearly half of new HIV infections are discovered when doctors are trying to diagnose a sick patient who has come for care,
CDC officials said.
"We know that many HIV infected people seek health care and they don't get tested. And many people are not diagnosed until late in the course of their illness, when they're already sick with HIV-related conditions," said Dr. Timothy Mastro, acting director of the CDC's division of HIV/AIDS prevention.
"By identifying people earlier through a screening program, we'll allow them to access life-extending therapy, and also through prevention services, learn how to avoid transmitting HIV infection to others," he said.
The announcement was hailed by some HIV patient advocates and health policy experts. They said the guidelines could help end the stigma of HIV testing and lead to needed care for an estimated 250,000 Americans who don't yet know they have the disease.
"I think it's an incredible advance. I think it's courageous on the part of the CDC," said A. David Paltiel, a health policy expert at the Yale University School of Medicine.
The recommendations aren't legally binding, but they influence what doctors do and what health insurance programs cover.
Some physicians groups predict the recommendations will be challenging to implement, involving new expenditures of money and time for testing, counseling and revising consent procedures.
Some physicians also question whether there is enough evidence to expand testing beyond high-risk groups, said Dr. Larry Fields, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
"Are doctors going to do it? Probably not," Fields said.
But the recommendations were endorsed by the American Medical Association, which urged physicians to comply.
"This is important public health strategy to stop the spread of HIV," Dr. Nancy Nielsen, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based physician who sits on the AMA's governing board, said in a statement.
CONT (http://tinyurl.com/ndh7r)
So happens I just bought OSUR (OraSure Technologies) yesterday, sometimes you get lucky (http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/542/osurzo2.png) :)
----------------------------------------------------
CDC backs HIV test for all between 13-64
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer 4 minutes ago
ATLANTA - All Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 should be routinely tested for
HIV to help catch infections earlier and stop the spread of the deadly virus, federal health recommendations announced Thursday say.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said HIV testing should become about as common as a cholesterol check. Nearly half of new HIV infections are discovered when doctors are trying to diagnose a sick patient who has come for care,
CDC officials said.
"We know that many HIV infected people seek health care and they don't get tested. And many people are not diagnosed until late in the course of their illness, when they're already sick with HIV-related conditions," said Dr. Timothy Mastro, acting director of the CDC's division of HIV/AIDS prevention.
"By identifying people earlier through a screening program, we'll allow them to access life-extending therapy, and also through prevention services, learn how to avoid transmitting HIV infection to others," he said.
The announcement was hailed by some HIV patient advocates and health policy experts. They said the guidelines could help end the stigma of HIV testing and lead to needed care for an estimated 250,000 Americans who don't yet know they have the disease.
"I think it's an incredible advance. I think it's courageous on the part of the CDC," said A. David Paltiel, a health policy expert at the Yale University School of Medicine.
The recommendations aren't legally binding, but they influence what doctors do and what health insurance programs cover.
Some physicians groups predict the recommendations will be challenging to implement, involving new expenditures of money and time for testing, counseling and revising consent procedures.
Some physicians also question whether there is enough evidence to expand testing beyond high-risk groups, said Dr. Larry Fields, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
"Are doctors going to do it? Probably not," Fields said.
But the recommendations were endorsed by the American Medical Association, which urged physicians to comply.
"This is important public health strategy to stop the spread of HIV," Dr. Nancy Nielsen, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based physician who sits on the AMA's governing board, said in a statement.
CONT (http://tinyurl.com/ndh7r)