The announcement by the CDC was applauded by health policy experts and HIV patient advocates, who say that the guidelines may help end the stigma of HIV testing if everyone is having it performed. Routine testing may result in care being sought by the estimated 250,000 Americans who are infected with the disease and don’t know it.
Many physicians feel that the recommendations will be challenging to implement and will probably be costly due to increased time for testing, counseling, and the revision of consent procedures currently being used. Some question whether enough evidence exists to justify testing for HIV beyond high-risk groups. But the American Medical Association endorses the recommendations and has urged doctors to comply with them. The AMA’s statement about the guidelines said that they are an "important public health strategy to stop the spread of HIV."
CDC officials have been working on the recommendations for about three years and received input and feedback from more than 100 organizations including HIV patient advocacy groups and various medical associations. The final retooling of the guidelines strengthened the language about informed consent to ensure that no one will be tested without their knowledge.
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