Healthcare and insurance

It can be sensible to tell your GP that you are HIV positive because, when treating you or prescribing medicines, they need to know about other health issues and medicines you take.

Doctors cannot refuse to treat you because you have HIV.

Doctors cannot talk about your health with your family, friends or anyone else or show them your medical records; however sometimes they may need to disclose your HIV status. Medical information is usually shared within the healthcare team, for example, and with other health workers treating you. But you can ask your doctor not to do this and, unless it would put another worker in danger, the doctor must respect your wishes.

An example of a situation where a doctor may need to let another worker know about your HIV status would be if a nurse had taken blood from an HIV positive person and had accidently pricked themselves with the needle. In this instance it would be important to let them know so that they could access Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) treatment which can prevent people from becoming HIV positive if they have been exposed to the virus.

A doctor may have to reveal medical information about you if forced to by a court or requested by the police, or if they think somebody’s life is at risk. This is very rare.

Your doctor will probably note your HIV status in your medical records. Under the Data Protection Act, you have the right to see those records and to have anything inaccurate changed.

The Equality Act states that dentists should not discriminate against people with HIV by refusing treatment or giving a poor service.

It is against the law for dentists to refuse to treat someone with HIV. There is no risk of HIV transmission during dental treatment if standard sterilisation and hygiene procedures are taken. If you experience discrimination, you can report it to your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)or the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The benefits of telling your dentist about your HIV status is that they can check for HIV-related gum problems, and ensure that any medicines they use don’t interact with anti-HIV drugs.

When applying for life insurance or a mortgage requiring it, insurers will ask you and your GP about your HIV status. If you lie and the insurance company finds out, it will cancel the policy.

Insurance industry guidelines say you can legally be asked about your HIV status, about whether you have had a sexually transmitted infection in the last five years, whether you have lived or travelled abroad, had blood transfusions or surgery abroad or whether you inject drugs.