Mark S. Senak

Confidentiality laws and anonymous tests are necessary to protect those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS from discrimination and harassment, asserts Mark S. Senak in the following viewpoint. The use of contact tracing—the notification of sexual and needle-sharing partners of an HIV-positive person that they may have been exposed to the AIDS virus—would dissuade many people from being tested for HIV, Senak contends. Furthermore, he maintains, those states with large populations of HIV-positive residents do not have the resources to contact all the known partners. Senak is the planning director of AIDS Project Los Angeles and the author of HIV, AIDS, and the Law, from which this Viewpoint is taken.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How does the Tarasoff case affect patient-physician confidentiality, in Senak...