U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Not Saints, But Healers: The Legal Duties of Health Care Professionals in the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) Epidemic

NCJ Number
112304
Journal
American Journal of Public Health Volume: 78 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1988) Pages: 844-849
Author(s)
G J Annas
Date Published
1988
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Health providers in private practice have no legal duty to treat AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) patients except in specific situations, but broad statements of ethical responsibility by health care agencies and State licensing boards can transform the 'no duty rule' into a rule of 'professional duty to treat or locate and refer to appropriate treatment.'
Abstract
The promulgation of such a rule should be followed by education programs based in hospitals, so that all health care workers are fully informed about AIDS-related treatment and transmission risks. Hospitals and prepaid health plans need responsive employee grievance mechanisms, competent safety personnel, available safety clothes and equipment, and safe methods of dealing with blood and bodily fluids as well as adequate disability coverage. Antidiscrimination standards should also be adopted. There is no quick legal fix to guarantee access to medical care for AIDS and AIDS-infected patients, however, because the basic problems of such access in the United States are economic and political, not legal. 32 references.