Hospitals, Health Care Professionals, and Aids: the Right to Know the Health Status of Professionals and Patients

This article addresses why patients and health care professionals (HCPs) with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) should have autonomy and privacy rights to choose whether to consent to an HIV test and to disclose their serologic status. It also demonstrates that the risk of HIV transmission in health care settings is exceedingly low, that it is probably lower than other well-accepted risks taken by patients and professionals, and that there are other less intrusive ways to further reduce the risk. The article concludes that knowledge of a patient\u27s serologic status is unlikely to reduce risk, since no effective action could be taken with the information. Balanced against the negligible public health benefit of a right to know are significant personal, financial, and social costs of screening programs

The Politics of AIDS: Compulsory State Powers, Public Health, and Civil Liberties

This article argues that compulsory public powers are justified only if they meet the following criteria: there is a significant risk of transmission of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus; the public health response is efficacious in preventing a primary mode of transmission of the virus; the economic, practical, or human rights burdens are not disproportionate to the public health benefits; and the public health power is the least restrictive alternative that would prevent viral transmission. The author carefully examines the levels of risk posed by behavior which can potentially transmit human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and demonstrates that compulsory state powers have little place in fighting a disease epidemic

Public health law: power, duty, restraint

Gostin's timely book offers the first systematic definition and theory of public health law. Basing his definition on a broad notion of the government's inherent responsibility to advance the population's health and well-being, he develops a rich understanding of the government's fundamental powers and duties. By analyzing constitutional powers and limits, as well as statutory, administrative, and tort law, Public Health Law vividly shows how law can become a potent tool for the realization of a healthier and safer population