This report originally appeared in the December 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News
An Austin, Texas orthopedic surgeon has come to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Human Rights (OCR) that he and his staff will not deny or withhold medically appropriate treatment from patients solely because they are HIV-positive, and will establish a non-discrimination policy and make reasonable modifications to his procedures to avoid discrimination.
The settlement follows OCR's investigation of an administrative complaint filed by a Hispanic HIV-positive male patient and Medicaid beneficiary. The patient sought medical treatment for a knee injury and informed the surgeon of his HIV status. The surgeon rejected the patient on the grounds that blood splatter during a needed bone-tendon-bone reconstruction operation might expose him to HIV. The surgeon then referred the patient to another surgeon over 200 miles away. OCR found the surgeon violated Section 504 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by refusing to perform the surgery, and that medical guidelines for the prevention of exposures to blood and body fluids would have been the appropriate course of action.
"Medical providers covered by Section 504 have a legal obligation to provide medically appropriate services to qualified individuals with disabilities," said OCR Director Georgina Verdugo in a press release. "Under Section 504, medical providers may not deny or withhold medically appropriate treatment, as determined by reasonable medical judgment given the current state of medical knowledge, solely on the basis of a patient's HIV status."
