A testing time for doctors: counselling patients before an HIV test.

There have been considerable advances in the diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and prevention of HIV infection since AIDS was first described in 1981. Because of these advances HIV testing will inevitably become more widespread and a more routine part of clinical investigation and diagnosis. Up to now, however, doctors have often been deterred from testing patients for HIV. This may be due in part to the apparent mystique that surrounds pre-HIV test counselling.