Counties Await Instructions on HIV Reporting
County health departments across the state are awaiting guidance from the state on how to comply with the new HIV names-based reporting system, the Bakersfield Californian reports.
The new system, signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) in April, will allow the state to retain $50 million in federal funding for HIV/AIDS programs.
The state has released a transition plan, which instructs counties on rebuilding their databases. The Department of Health Services will release official compliance guidelines within a year that specifies what information should be included when reporting new HIV cases, according to Michael Montgomery, head of the state Office of AIDS (Hagedorn, Bakersfield Californian, 6/18).