Many Doctors Held Reluctant to Discuss AIDS
WASHINGTON — Many doctors are reluctant to discuss AIDS with their patients because they underestimate the threat of the disease spreading in the general population, the nation’s No. 2 health official says.
Some physicians are doing a good job, “but there are others that aren’t aware of it enough and we have to get that message out,” said Robert E. Windom, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services. “Heterosexual transmission is coming up fast and that is a problem (doctors) don’t recognize.”
The chief victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome have been homosexual men and intravenous drug users, but heterosexual contact is now responsible for 4% of cases, officials say.
Windom said a new AIDS education program developed by the government will contain a section specifically aimed at educating health-care professionals.
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