Philadelphia Mayor Opposes Pennsylvania’s Plan to Implement Names-Based HIV Reporting

Philadelphia Mayor John Street on Saturday said that Pennsylvania's plan to implement names-based HIV reporting would be "counterproductive" and "hinder" the collection of accurate HIV case data, the Associated Press reports. Speaking on his weekly radio address, Street expressed concerns that if names-based reporting is implemented statewide, data on the disease may become "distorted," as people may "avoid or delay" testing to "keep their privacy," resulting in an "undercount" of cases. Street recommended that the state consider adopting a unique-identifier coding system, similar to the one that Philadelphia uses. Instead of reporting names, the system uses a "set of symbols" to identify people and includes demographic information to help the state determine areas in need of AIDS funding. According to the Associated Press, Pennsylvania currently reports 49 diseases by name, including AIDS, anthrax and syphilis (Associated Press, 5/26).