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共用题干
Privacy Worry May Keep HIV Patients From Therapy

Patients infected with HIV are often concerned about the confidentiality of their HIV-positive status.In
fact,some patients are so worried that they will actually give up treatment to prevent the release of this
information,according to a report published in the August issue of AIDS Care.
Dr. Kathryn Whetten-Goldstein and colleagues from Duke University,Durham,North Carolina,studied
the confidentiality issues of 15 HIV-infected patients from rural North Carolina locations.They were divided
into groups designed to explore their attitudes toward,and experiences with,breaches in confidentiality.
"The fear of a breach in confidentiality is' definitely affecting the care that HIV-infected patients
receive,"Whetten-Goldstein said."Most studied patients had experienced or knew someone who had
experienced a breach in confidentiality."
"Two types of breaches occurred,"Whetten-Goldstein noted."The first was a more obvious type of
breach.One example was a nurse who told her child that her patient was HIV-positive out of concern that
her child would play with the patient's child."
"The other type of breach was more subtle,one that providers might not consider breaches,"Whetten-
Goldstein explained."This type of breach involves providers talking about a patient's HIV status without the
patient's knowledge of the interaction."
"The law allows the sharing of information between providers within the same institution,but patient's
consent must be obtained before providers at different institutions can share information,"she pointed out.
"Patients in the study wanted providers to tell them when they are going to share information with other
providers and why it is being done,"Whetten-Goldstein said."They also felt that providers should be
punished when a breach occurs."
"However,because patients are often reluctant to seek legal action which may further expose their
status,they felt that the system should regulate itself,"she added.

Most patients in the study strongly object to the breaches in the confidentiality of their HIV status.
A:Right
B:Wrong
C:Not mentioned