HIV / AIDS Counseling & Testing in Maryland

Maryland HIV/AIDS Counseling, Testing, and Reporting Laws

2008 Changes in HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing Laws

Effective July 1, 2008, Maryland law has modified the HIV testing process in the areas of:

Obtaining Informed Consent for an HIV test;
Providing Pre-Test Counseling;
Providing Test Results and Referrals (Post-Test Session);
Notifying Sexual and Needle Sharing Partners; and
Working with Pregnant Women.

For more detailed description, please view the PRACTICE ADVISORY FOR HIV TESTING PROCESS IN MARYLAND.

It is important to note that although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidelines on HIV testing in healthcare settings, those recommendations do not supersede Maryland law and regulations. If there is any incongruence between CDC’s recommendations and Maryland law, State law must be followed.

Please visit the Maryland Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration website for more information on the Legislation.

2007 Changes in HIV/AIDS Reporting Law: What Providers Need To Know Legislation

The Maryland HIV/AIDS Reporting Act passed by the General Assembly enacts the following five changes:

Physician reporting has been expanded from AIDS cases by name to both HIV and AIDS cases by name.
Institutions (including hospitals, nursing homes, hospice facilities, medical clinics in correctional facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities, and inpatient drug rehabilitation facilities) are required to report both HIV and AIDS cases by name.
Laboratory reporting has been expanded from HIV positive tests and CD4+ lymphocyte counts 200 cells to include all CD4+ lymphocyte tests. Reporting has been changed from unique identifier code to name.
Physician reporting has been expanded to include exposure of newborn infants to HIV. Identifying information will be removed after 18 months if the infant is found to no longer be HIV positive.
Increased restrictions on access to HIV/AIDS data and heightened penalties for intentional release of confidential HIV/AIDS data have been added.

Resources for Clinicians

National HIV/AIDS Clinicians’ Consultation Center

A University of California San Francisco/San Francisco General Hospital-based AIDS Education & Training Centers clinical resource for health care professionals. For more information please visit their website.
The National Clinicians’ Consultation Center offers three hotlines for health care professionals.
Warmline: 800-933-3413
PEPline: 888-448-4911
Perinatal HIV Hotline: 888-448-8765

CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN)

Up to date information about HIV/AIDS prevention including current CDC guidelines and recommendations for the detection, treatment, and care of HIV/AIDS. For more information please visit their website.

How to report HIV/AIDS Cases

The morbidity reporting form used by physicians, healthcare institutions, and other services providers to report all communicable diseases (DHMH Form 1140) was changed to add HIV, along with AIDS, as a reportable condition; each case report should be submitted by the provider to the local health officer within 48 hours. Physician Toolkit: Changes in HIV/AIDS Reporting Requirements

Updated Forms

Patient Education Material

Additional HIV/AIDS Materials

Preventing Perinatal HIV Transmission

In past years, an estimated 92% of AIDS cases reported among children less than 13 years old in the US, were attributed to perinatal or mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Transmission can occur during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding. Recent reductions in perinatal transmission are attributed to routine screening of pregnant women to identify those infected with HIV and the use of anti-retroviral drugs for treatment and prophylaxis. Rates of HIV transmission from an infected mother to her infant have been reduced to less than 2%, compared to 25%-30% with no interventions. The Baltimore Regional Perinatal Advisory Group (RPAG) works to optimize the health of pregnant women and newborn infants in the Baltimore region through education, advocacy and information sharing. RPAG has developed “Preventing Perinatal HIV Transmission: A Clinician’s Toolkit for Testing Counseling and Referral.”

Requirements for Perinatal HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral: A Toolkit for Physicians

New regulations were approved in December 2009, following the enactment of the 2008 HIV/AIDS legislation aimed at reducing barriers to HIV testing in Maryland. A toolkit was developed by the Center in collaboration with the Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration, DHMH, which includes the latest information regarding HIV counseling, testing, and referral requirements in Maryland. Click here to download Perinatal HIV Toolkit.

Contact Information

For more information on HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing in Maryland, please contact:

Erin Johnson Patton , MPH, CHES
Program Coordinator
Phone: 410-539-0872 or 800-492-1056, ext. 3342
Fax: 410-649-4131
Email: ejohnson@medchi.org