HIV patient triggers a doctor's dilemma about confidentiality and safety
Friday, May 9, 2008 - 20:49
in Health & Medicine
When a patient tests HIV-positive, a doctor has to navigate state law and medical ethics. It can be a rocky path. My patient, a 26-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, had been seeing me for only a few months when I determined that he had been infected with HIV. He didn't seem surprised but was close-mouthed about his sexual orientation or where he might have contracted the virus.