Question

Bergalis was one of six patients infected with HIV after visiting David J. Acer, the Florida dentist who had AIDS. This incident is the first known case of clinical transmission of HIV. The claim asserted the Dr. Acer infected others with HIV and that his patients were unaware of his status. As a result, one of those patients, Kimberly Ann Bergalis, died of AIDS at the age of 23. In addition to being the first known clinical transmission , it also bears the designation as being the first known case of a transmission of the disease that was "innocent exposure" during a dental procedure. Investigation into this case, in the 1980's proved that Dr. Acer was not using universal precautions-he was working on patients without any gloves and reusing unsterilized instruments. As a result of this case, in 1985 OSHA began to require that all healthcare providers use universal precautions when treating any patients in any area of health care. With all the past and current AIDS/HIV education, we still have many people exposed and dying from AIDS/HIV.

1. Should it be mandated that healthcare workers with a positive HIV status must inform their patients?

2. What can be done, specifically, to prevent exposures?

3. What consequences should be facing a provider who takes these actions today?

Answer 1

1. No, according to me it should not be mandated that healthcare workers with a positive HIV status must inform their patients about it. This will create a sense of panic in the mind of the patients and reduce the level of trust between them. This will ultimately affect the quality of care within the healthcare facility. Though the healthcare organization should properly instruct every healthcare personal whether HIV positive or not to strictly follow the rules and regulations to promote infection control from basic level and take every precaution to ensure the safety of patient.

2. To prevent such exposure, all the healthcare providers must follow the universal precaution methods when treating any patients in any area of health care to ensure utmost safety of the patient. In fact, healthcare professional should ensure as well as promote this kind of safe practise from individual to organizational level.

3. I don't quite get the context of this question here. If it is refering to the action of taking universal precaution, the consequence will be better safety and less reporting of such case like Kimberly Ann Bergalis. And if it is refering to the action of mandating that healthcare workers with a positive HIV status must inform their patients about it, then it will badly affect the morale as well as self-esteem. It is quite obvious that once a patient gets to know that their provider is HIV positive, they will automatically develop a sense of insecurity and will not find the provider worthy of their trust. This reaction of patient will surely make a bad impact over the provider's mind as well as their practicing skill.