Oregon plans to
begin tracking HIV cases in the state by patient names
instead of through its current codes-based system to avoid
losing as much as $4 million in federal AIDS funding
each year, health officials told The Oregonian. The
state's current HIV reporting system records
the names of newly diagnosed Oregon residents in a
database for 90 days, after which time their cases are given
codes. The new system, which will be implemented in
late March or early April, will keep the cases
recorded by name.
Mel Kohn, a state
epidemiologist, says that in the future the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will base all
state AIDS funding on data gathered from names-based
HIV reporting systems. If Oregon maintained its
current codes-based system, it could lose 30% to 40%
of the $10 million in CDC funds it receives each year,
according to Kohn.
AIDS activists
worry the change to names-based HIV reporting will
discourage people from seeking HIV antibody tests, but
health officials say the same worries were voiced when
the state began tracking names for 90 days and there
was no impact on testing rates.
Public hearings
on the switch to names-based reporting will be held in
Deschutes, Lane, and Multnomah counties in March.
(Advocate.com)