Would HIV always show up on medical records?

[Genuine_Ghost]

Just wondering whether it would show up on someone's medical records if they had HIV or not. I saw my friend's recently, it even said 'wife died' on it, but not HIV.

[chocolates]

I definately think it would. The same as any other medical illness or ailment or procedure.

[BlueAfterglow08]

i believe it legally has too, yes. So doctors know they are dealing with HIV and take appropriate cautions with blood etc.

Unless the person hasnt been tested/hasnt told anyone they have it.

[Genuine_Ghost]

Would someone with diabetes, and who also had to have operations regularly etc, know if they had it?

[BlueAfterglow08]

Originally Posted by Genuine_Ghost

Would someone with diabetes, and who also had to have operations regularly etc, know if they had it?

In most countries they need LEGAL permission to test you for HIV, because there is an actual test they have to do to make SURE you have it or dont. They cant test you without your knowledg.e

[lavenderdove]

You medical records are fixed and stay permanently.

But it depends on whether you are looking at a current summary or not. The info might be buried somewhere in the records and not mentioned every time a doctor sees the person.

Most doctors will ask that question when they first see a patient (i.e., what conditions do you have), but after the first visit, it may not appear in subsequent records if it is not pertinent to what they are being treated for.

But it will be in the computer medical record DB for that person and uncovered if you apply for insurance etc.

[live.ur.life]

Originally Posted by BlueAfterglow08

i believe it legally has too, yes. So doctors know they are dealing with HIV and take appropriate cautions with blood etc.

Unless the person hasnt been tested/hasnt told anyone they have it.

Actually, no, it does not. It is the right of the patient to keep that to themselves.

I learned this in patho the other day. We were on the topic of ...what do you know..."HIV & AIDS"...

My nursing Prof was telling the class that nurses & doctors usually don't find out that a patient has HIV or AIDS, until we [the nurse] order their regular drugs from the pharmacy. When people come into the hospital for whatever reason, the doctor always gets a list of what the patient is on and orders enough supply for the patient while they are in the hospital. The doctor doesn't even tell the nurse..The nurse finds out while she is doing her research on the drug [which every nurse knows, you ALWAYS have to do research on a drug before administering...Because you have to know your five rights....

Right drug,
Right patient,
Right time,
Right medication,
Right Route....

& in some cases


Right documentation....

So, no, it is perfectly legal for someone with HIV or AIDS to keep their disease to themselves. Which is why the US came out with "standard precautions" in the late 1970's...Universal Precautions was legalized shortly after the US started noticing HIV & AIDS cases were increasing....


Universal Precautions is a set of guidelines to follow to prevent the spread of HIV and any other blood borne pathogen such as Hep B in the healthcare field.

All healthcare workers must use universal precautions...

So whether or not an HIV patient decides to inform the healthcare team he/she is infected, a healthcare worker should protect themselves ANYWAYS by using the rules of Univesal precautions, each and every time he/she comes in to contact with ANY kind of bodily fluid. That means, by wearing gloves, goggles, and protective barriers that prevents [minimizes in some cases] splashes of bodily fluids from reaching the employee. Of course you are going to come across a lazy healthcare worker, who assumes that someone is "clean" based on their appereance and those few nurses who "can't do an IV while wearing gloves. If they get caught, they can get introuble, because gloves are met to protect the patient as well... There are healthcare workers out there who have diseases as well...So if you ever see your doc or nurse not wearing gloves, while physically touching you, you can request that they put a pair on. They should also be wasing their hands before and AFTER they come and go into your room [same thing at a doctors office as well]. This minimizes [can prevent] the spread of microorganisms such as MRSA and other diseaes that are easily spread [some pathogens that affect the dermis].....I personally don't like getting the patients who have MRSA because it is highly contagious and spreadable....Those patietns have to be isolated and nothing can go in or out of their hospital rooms....Everything that goes in, must be disposable....As far as hospital medical supplies, well we even use disposable stethoscopes....

[live.ur.life]

Originally Posted by lavenderdove

You medical records are fixed and stay permanently.

But it depends on whether you are looking at a current summary or not. The info might be buried somewhere in the records and not mentioned every time a doctor sees the person.

Most doctors will ask that question when they first see a patient (i.e., what conditions do you have), but after the first visit, it may not appear in subsequent records if it is not pertinent to what they are being treated for.

But it will be in the computer medical record DB for that person and uncovered if you apply for insurance etc.

Exactly, and often times, these patients are constantly in and out of the hospital due to other illnesses. A carrier of HIV and eventually AIDS makes a person more suscpetible to other illnesses, their bodies are weakend and immune system altered. A lot of times HIV & AIDS patients are in the hospital for other illnesses, related to their immuno compromised state. If they seek out a new hospital, they can choose what to tell the doctor/nurse. It is their right.

[BlueAfterglow08]

Wow I didnt know that. I read up on it and your right. I just assumed.

I think its good people have the right to keep it confidential. I understand why.

[annie24]

it's also possible if they have HIV, they confirmed that diagnosis at another clinic, not at the same one as the doctor. after all, there are mail order HIV confidential tests.

i agree with live.ur.life, doctors and nurses take universal precautions when dealing with blood, assuming anyone could have some kind of blood born disease.