Anonymous testing needed, says AIDS PEI

Prince Edward Island is the only Canadian province that doesn't provide anonymous testing for HIV, and that needs to change, says AIDS PEI.

Testing is currently done through family physicians. A name or a code can be used so the patient won't be identified in the lab, but the results still go back to the doctor's office.

"Anonymous testing is a really good way to encourage people to get tested," Mark Hanlon, executive director of AIDS PEI, told CBC News onMonday.

"Their names don't have to be released, and the only people that really know the result is the individual getting tested and the lab technician. And even the lab technician at that point doesn't really know the individual by name, but by number."

Results are returned to patients in a sealed envelope.

Currently on P.E.I., not only does the family doctor see the result, but the doctor must report sex, age and county of residence to health authorities. About 3,200 human immunodeficiency virus tests are done on P.E.I. every year, with one a year coming back positive on average over the past nine years. Currently, about 50 people on P.E.I. are living with HIV.

P.E.I.'s chief health officer worries that people with HIV who get tested anonymously won't get the counselling they need.

"Counselling is very important for anyone who is going to have an HIV test done, in terms of what they might expect in the results," said chief health officer Dr. Heather Morrison.

"If they are HIV-positive, they should be counseled about what that means in terms of making sure they have protected intercourse, whether they share needles those types of things."

There is evidence that there is some demand for anonymous testing. AIDS workers in Moncton confirm they do get calls from Islanders looking for anonymous tests. Despite that anonymity, they say counselling is provided before and after the testing is done.

Hanlon said testing sites could be set up at existing walk-in clinics in various Island locations. AIDS PEI wants to set up an anonymous clinic next year on a trial basis.