The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has issued proposed regulations that would bring the VA’s testing policies in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for making HIV testing a routine component of medical care. The proposed changes would:

• replace written informed consent for HIV testing with a requirement that providers inform patients that they intend to order an HIV test
  
• allow for providers to provide written educational materials on HIV infection in lieu of pre-test counseling
  
• require providers to document a patient’s informed consent in the medical record

The proposed rule notes that studies have found HIV prevalence rates of 0.1 to 2.8 percent among outpatients within the VA system and that 50 percent of HIV-positive veterans have already experienced significant damage to their immune system when they are diagnosed with HIV disease. The text of the proposed rule is available online.

HIVMA submitted comments on the Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) Proposed Rule on the Elimination of Requirements for Prior Signature Consent and Pre- and Post-Test Counseling for HIV Testing.

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