LAS VEGAS (AP) — The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended 12 years ago that health care providers broaden testing for the AIDS-causing HIV virus to everyone, not just those deemed most at risk of contracting the disease.
University Medical Center in Las Vegas will adopt the CDC's guidelines on Saturday in hopes of driving down the number of HIV diagnoses in Nevada and persuading other health facilities in the area to do the same.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that CDC data shows the number of new HIV cases has steadily increased in Nevada since 2012 as the national caseload leveled off.
UMC is adopting "opt-out" testing guidelines. Patients who are getting blood drawn in the hospital's adult emergency room will be automatically tested for HIV unless they request otherwise.
