Is The Test Confidential?
Australian guidelines are clear that confidential HIV testing should be available to anyone who wants or needs it. That’s the starting point, and it’s not negotiable.
Your medical records are encrypted and private. Only you and your doctor see that you’ve had an HIV test.
If you don’t want to use your name
You can use a different name. If that’s what it takes for you to get tested, that’s a good trade and I’d rather you did it than didn’t come in.
Tell us when you book.
What about Medicare?
Worth being straight with you here, because the answer changed.
If you use Medicare, there will be a record. The appointment shows as a standard GP consultation, and because Dorevitch bulk bills the pathology, the test itself goes through Medicare too. Nothing on that record says why you came in, but the claim exists.
We used to run a private point-of-care test that sat outside Medicare entirely. We don’t any more, because the laboratory test reads a recent exposure far better and your negative becomes conclusive sooner.
If you’d rather there was no Medicare record at all, the appointment and the pathology can both be done privately. You’d pay for them, and nothing is claimed. Say so when you book and we’ll set it up that way.
If you’re worried about who can see what, ask me at the appointment. It’s a reasonable question and it deserves a proper answer rather than a brush-off.
The bit that matters
None of this is worth more than knowing your status.
If confidentiality is the thing standing between you and a test, come in and tell me that. There’s almost always a way to arrange it.
Booking
Phone 03 8575 6900 and ask for an appointment with Dr George Forgan-Smith for an HIV test.
If it’s been less than 72 hours since the exposure you’re worried about, PEP is the time-critical thing. Go to a sexual health clinic or an emergency department today, or ring 1800 PEP NOW (1800 737 669).
This information is general in nature and not a substitute for personalised medical advice. Speak to your doctor about your specific situation.
Dr George Forgan-Smith, GP, practising in Sydney and Melbourne. AHPRA MED0001197864.