Informed consent for HIV screening in the emergency departments and human rights in patient care: seeking the right balance

HIV exceptionalism refers to the fact that the illness is so different from other diseases that testing needs a special approach to informed consent. HIV infected people often visit health clinics, especially emergency departments, years before receiving a diagnosis without being tested for HIV. There is considerable public interest in increasing HIV testing in emergency departments. However, because these departments are sensitive environments that primarily provide urgent and emergency care, a number of ethical questions have been raised about the appropriateness of these settings for the implementation of universal screening programs. Human rights in patient care therefore constitutes an essential theoretical framework for analyzing ethical and legal dilemmas that arise in clinical encounters, thus strengthening the application of human rights principles to the context of patient care.

Automated summary

HIV exceptionalism refers to the special approach required for testing due to the unique nature of the disease. Many HIV infected individuals are not tested until years after visiting healthcare facilities, particularly emergency departments. This raises ethical concerns about implementing universal screening programs in these sensitive environments. Therefore, human rights in patient care provides a crucial theoretical framework for analyzing ethical and legal dilemmas in clinical encounters.