D.C. moves to
adopt names-based HIV reporting

The District of Columbia health department is expected later this month to unveil a formal plan to switch to names-based HIV case reporting, reports The Washington Blade. Currently, the district uses a codes-based system to record all HIV cases, but health officials say the change to names-based reporting is needed to comply with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regulations linking federal HIV funding to data from only names-based reporting systems. Keeping the codes-based system could cost the district millions in federal AIDS dollars.

The proposed switch will be published in the District of Columbia Register and be open for a 30-day public comment period. The district council will review the proposed change when it returns from summer recess in September. The change is supported by several gay and health organizations in the district, including Whitman-Walker Clinic, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, Metro Teen AIDS, La Clinica Del Pueblo, the D.C. Primary Care Association, and Family Medical Counseling Service, reports the Blade. (The Advocate)