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June 13, 2007
Scene of the Crime
"Federal guidelines calling for the routine testing of all Americans ages 13 to 64 for the AIDS virus might not be the best way to identify people who are infected but don't know it," says the Baltimore Sun.
CDC's decision to recommend routine, opt-out testing initially angered advocates who said it would cut out essential pre-test counseling and consent. Now a report in PLoS Medicine from a respected epidemiologist says it's not cost-effective either.
Instead, clinicians can find more infections -- and at lower cost -- by targeting groups like drug addicts, men in prison and people in high-prevalence neighborhoods. It's worth mentioning that no matter what the plan, some people would fall through the cracks.
Posted by Adam Graham-Silverman at June 13, 2007 10:46 PM