Confidential HIV Test Results Stored in Secret Michigan Database for a Decade
State health officials in Michigan have spent the past ten years secretly collecting personal information about those undergoing HIV testing.
The American Independent News Network discovered that the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has, since 2003, compiled names, birth dates, risk categories, and other demographic information of people submitting for confidential HIV testing into a huge database.
Those identified as sexual and needle-sharing partners of persons living with HIV have been coded in the database. This has allowed prosecutors and other attorneys to identify defendants in both criminal and civil cases targeting those who may have spread HIV to others, according to a study authored by University of Michigan Ph.D. candidate Trevor Hoppe.
State officials told American Independent that it was necessary to collect and store the data originating from tests funded through federal grants.
http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/confidential-hiv-test-results-stored-in-secret-michigan-database-for-a-decade-130307?news=849348