Section 697.300  HIV Counseling and Testing Centers

a)         The Department shall establish alternative blood and HIV test services, known as HIV Counseling and Testing Centers.  (Section 2310-315 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois)  These facilities shall be operated by the Department or Designated Agencies.  These facilities shall provide services in accordance with the provisions of this Part and the applicable provisions of the Sexually Transmissible Diseases Code (77 Ill. Adm. Code 693, specifically Sections 693.40, 693.70, 693.80, 693.90, 693.100, 693.120, 693.130 and 693.140.)

1)         These facilities shall not be operated by blood banks, plasma centers or hospitals.  (Section 2310-315  of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois)

2)         Physicians and other health care providers may refer HIV-infected persons to these facilities for counseling.

3)         Any person twelve years of age or older may consent to testing and counseling at an HIV Counseling and Testing Center.

b)         No person may be subjected to an HIV antibody test at HIV Counseling and Testing Centers, unless written informed consent is first obtained from the test subject or the test subject's legally authorized representative. (See Appendix A, Illustration A for a Sample Written Informed Consent Form.)

c)         All persons seeking counseling and testing at an HIV Counseling and Testing Center shall be offered the option of confidential or anonymous services and shall provide written informed consent using a coded system.  All patient records shall be maintained using this code system.

d)         The HIV Counseling and Testing Centers shall provide counseling to the test subject prior to performing the test.  The counseling shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, information about:

1)         HIV infection and HIV transmission;

2)         the difference between confidential and anonymous HIV testing; information about the meaning of the test and test results,; such as the purpose, potential uses, and limitations of the test and test results and the statutory rights to anonymous testing and to confidentiality; and information about the availability of supplemental testing;

3)         the availability of referrals for further information, or counseling; and

4)         methods for prevention of transmission of HIV.

e)         Contact interview and investigation services shall be provided only by counselors who have completed a course of training that included instruction in the following:

1)         The etiology and transmission of HIV, including associated risk behaviors and activities and patient profiles of persons at significant risk of HIV infection;

2)         The natural history and progression of HIV infection;

3)         Methods for preventing transmission of HIV infection;

4)         Principles and techniques of counseling, including demonstration of interviewing and counseling skills needed for epidemiologic management of HIV infected persons, critiqued role-playing, psychological assessment and crisis intervention;

5)         Principles and techniques of contact investigation and referral; and

6)         Principles of communicable diseases.

f)          It shall be the duty of every person providing results of an HIV antibody test to provide the subject of the test with an explanation of the test results, methods for prevention of HIV transmission, and referrals for medical and psychological follow-up appropriate to the needs of the test subject.  These referrals shall include appropriate referrals to physicians who will provide services to HIV positive individuals; tuberculosis and sexually transmissible disease services facilities for psychological counseling; and crisis intervention and substance abuse treatment facilities, as available.

g)         All persons with a positive HIV antibody test shall be offered the assistance of health professionals in locating and referring sexual and needle-sharing contacts for counseling and testing, with the consent of the infected person.  All persons refusing such assistance shall be strongly encouraged to notify their previous sexual and needle-sharing contacts of their possible exposure to HIV, and to refer such contacts for counseling and possible testing.

1)         HIV infected persons shall be asked to identify their sexual and needle-sharing contacts for the preceding 12-month period.  The counselor shall discuss the specific nature of each contact with the client to determine the likelihood of HIV transmission based on the type of sexual or needle-sharing practice involved and the counselor's knowledge of risk factors.

2)         Those contacts determined to be at significant risk of infection, in the professional judgment of the counselor based on the type of sexual or needle-sharing practice involved and the counselor's knowledge of risk factors, shall be investigated.  Investigation shall be conducted for contacts for whom sufficient information to identify the person is available, such as first and last name, street address, or telephone number.

3)         The counselor may prioritize the order in which contacts are to be investigated.  The counselor shall provide first priority to those contacts who (based again on the counselor's professional judgment), except for contact notification, may not have reason to suspect they may be infected because the counselor has no information that the contacts:  

A)        are aware of having engaged in behavior likely to result in exposure; and/or

B)        are knowledgeable about the type of behavior carrying such risks.

4)         Persons choosing to self-refer their contacts shall receive intensive individualized instruction and counseling in methods to provide this notification and referral.

5)         Contacts to persons with HIV infection, identified through the contact interview and investigative process, shall be counseled, confidentially and in person, regarding the possibility of infection, methods to prevent the spread of the infection, and services available from public health agencies.  Such persons shall also be offered testing to determine infection.

6)         If such person is legally unable to agree to counseling because of age or legal incompetence, consent and participation in counseling shall be requested of the individual's parent or legal guardian.  If such person is legally able to agree to but appears to be incapable of understanding and competently acting on such counseling, in the professional judgment of the counselor, participation in counseling shall be requested of a parent or other person chosen by the client.

h)         It shall be the duty of every person conducting an HIV test in an  HIV Counseling and Testing Center to provide results of the test only to the individual upon whom the test was performed.  Such results are to be provided only in an individual face-to-face interview.  The test subject may elect to have other persons present during the interview.  It shall be the duty of the person providing the counseling to determine that the presence of a second party during the interview is not the result of undue inducement such as any element of force, fraud, deceit or other constraint or coercion.

i)          It shall be the duty of every person with access to an individual's HIV antibody test results to maintain strict confidentiality of those results and the test subject's identity as required by the Act and as specified in Section 697.140.

(Source:  Amended at 30 Ill. Reg. 2373, effective February 3, 2006)