Despite evidence that a human immunodeficiency virus—positive (HIV + ) dentist infected several patients, governmental or institutional efforts to discover HIV + professionals and to routinely restrict them from "invasive procedures" are not justified. This was the general, although not unanimous, consensus at a recent conference attended by 200 physicians, nurses, dentists, health care attorneys, ethicists, and public health officials from all over America.
The conference, entitled "The HIV+ Health Professional: Policy Options for Individuals, Institutions, and States" was held December 7-8, 1990, in New Brunswick, NJ. It was sponsored by the Regional AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) Education and Training Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Newark, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners. A distinguished national faculty of 28 speakers and panelists contributed perspectives from epidemiology, surgery, infectious disease, dentistry, nursing, law, and ethics.
Other points of widespread