HIV Testing Consent and Test Result Confidentiality
KY HIV Confidentiality
Health
Requires informed consent before HIV testing (a general medical consent suffices if it tells the patient HIV testing may be ordered) and requires confirmatory testing before a positive result is revealed. Anyone who knows an HIV test result may not disclose the tested person's identity or identifiable results except to listed recipients such as the patient, persons named in a release, treating providers, and public health authorities.
- Where
- Kentucky
- Citation
- KRS 214.181; KRS 214.625; KRS 214.995 (created 1990 Ky. Acts chs. 443 and 495; amended through 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 134)
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 1990-07-13
- Last amended
- 2019-06-27
- Enforced by
- Prosecutors (criminal penalty); Cabinet for Health and Family Services for public-health reporting
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- Intentionally disclosing the identity of a person tested for HIV in violation of KRS 214.181(5)(d) or 214.625(5)(c) is a Class A misdemeanor.
- Applies to
- Any person in Kentucky who performs HIV tests or who obtains or has knowledge of an HIV test result, including health-care providers, facilities, and laboratories
What a privacy notice must say
- General medical consent forms must tell the patient they may be tested for HIV, hepatitis, or other blood-borne infections if a clinician orders it for diagnosis.KRS 214.625(2)
Practices it requires
- Obtain informed consent before performing an HIV test, except under a compliant general consent form or in an emergency.KRS 214.625(2)-(3), (5)(a); KRS 214.181(5)(a)
- Do not treat or reveal a result as positive without corroborating or confirmatory tests (limited exceptions for rapid-test results given to the patient).KRS 214.625(5)(b); KRS 214.181(5)(b)-(c)
- Do not disclose the identity of a person tested or results in identifiable form except to listed recipients such as the subject, persons named in a valid release, treating personnel with need to know, consulting providers, and the Cabinet for disease reporting.KRS 214.625(5)(c); KRS 214.181(5)(d)
- Results obtained under a general consent form may be used only for diagnosis or other purposes directly related to medical treatment.KRS 214.625(2)
Sources
- Official text
- KRS 214.181 (Kentucky Legislature)
- KRS 214.625 (Kentucky Legislature)
- KRS 214.995 (Kentucky Legislature)
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: The full list of permitted disclosures in KRS 214.625(5)(c) and 214.181(5)(d) was only partially read. Other Kentucky health-confidentiality provisions (for example KRS 214.645 HIV reporting, KRS 210 mental health records, KRS 222 substance-use treatment records, and medical-record access rules) were not researched in this pass.
Research reference, not legal advice.