(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds that the incidence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is increasing in this Commonwealth at a significant rate. Controlling the incidence of this disease is aided by providing testing and counseling activities for those persons who are at risk of exposure to or who are carrying the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is the causative agent of AIDS. Testing and counseling are promoted by establishing confidentiality requirements which protect individuals from inappropriate disclosure and subsequent misuse of confidential HIV-related information. The General Assembly also finds that, since certain specific behaviors place a person at risk of contracting the virus, testing and counseling of persons who are at risk of exposure to the virus makes an efficient use of available funding.

(b) Further findings.--The General Assembly further finds that individual health care providers are increasingly concerned about occupational exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Due to the nature of their work, individual health care providers and first responders frequently come into contact with the blood and/or body fluids of individuals whose HIV infection status is not known. Regardless of the use of universal precautions to prevent HIV transmission between patients and individual health care providers, there will be instances of significant exposure to the blood and/or body fluids of patients.

(c) Intent.--It is the intent of the General Assembly to promote confidential testing on an informed and voluntary basis in order to encourage those most in need to obtain testing and appropriate counseling and to better serve the public health by making HIV testing a routine part of general medical care, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(d) Further intent.--It is the further intent of the General Assembly to provide a narrow exposure notification and information mechanism for individual health care providers or first responders, who experience a significant exposure to a patient's blood and/or body fluids, to learn of a patient's HIV infection status and thereby obtain the means to make informed decisions with respect to modes and duration of therapy as well as measures to reduce the likelihood of transmitting an infection to others.