| Since the first case of a health care provider infecting a patient with HIV was reported in the United States in 1991, the issue of disclosure of a health care provider's blood-borne pathogen status to patients has been a controversial one. The controversy centers around the tension between patients' rights to informed consent and to be protected from harm versus health care providers' rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination.;This thesis reviews the current ethical and legal situation in Canada to determine disclosure obligations of health care providers who are infected with a blood-borne pathogen. These obligations are examined from the perspectives of patients and health care providers. The thesis concludes that disclosure to patients should only occur in specific high-risk situations. On the other hand, if the health care provider performs exposure prone procedures, disclosure to the health care provider's regulatory body should be mandatory. |
