HIV Testing in the ER Can Save Lives

San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) has been on the front lines of HIV and AIDS since the onset of the epidemic in the early 1980's. Since 2007 SFGH has been part of a national initiative to offer HIV testing in the ER. The testing in the ER has increased from 150 patients a month to about 500 a month. Since the beginning of the year, 50 new cases of HIV have been identified by testing in the ER; cases that otherwise would have gone undiagnosed. ER testing is working...the CDC is reporting a 15% increase in new HIV cases that the CDC believes is related to ER testing. Before my HIV career, I was an ER nurse and recall ER docs "forbidding" any HIV testing be done in "their" ER. Thank goodness times are changing.

Related Information

• HIV/AIDS Testing - FAQ

• Understanding Rapid HIV Testing

• Should We All Get HIV Tested?