Multistate Evaluation of Anonymous HIV Testing and Access to Medical Care

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Abstract
BOTH CONFIDENTIAL and anonymous antibody testing for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have been available at public testing sites in the United States since 1985. In confidential testing, a person's name is linked to the specimen, and the test result is recorded in a medical chart with a name. Early in the epidemic, the stigma associated with testing positive for HIV focused attention on the potential for breaches in the confidentiality of an HIV test result. Concerned that anxiety about the potential loss of confidentiality would deter some at-risk persons from voluntarily seeking testing for HIV, many state and local public health departments made this test available on an anonymous as well as a confidential basis. In anonymous testing, a unique identifier (typically a number) rather than a patient's name is used to link the specimen and the result to the patient. Anonymous test results are not recorded in a medical chart that has a patient's name. The availability of an anonymous HIV testing option has differed over time across states and localities. Currently, 40 states have publicly funded anonymous testing sites for HIV, and all 50 states have publicly funded confidential HIV testing sites.