When it comes to health care, patients are more and more proactive in the provider-patient relationship. Many search for information and sometimes educate providers on the newest treatments or tests. But in some cases, patients are not told about conditions for which they are at risk, and this is particularly true with genital herpes. Whether it's a lack of time on the providers' part or a reluctance to discuss the issues, some health care providers don't talk with their patients about genital herpes. What should patients know about genital herpes? What rights do they have? ASHA, as the leader in patient education about genital herpes, has recently developed a Patients Bill of Rights concerning genital herpes and calls on health care providers and patients to respect and demand these rights.

ASHA believes:

1. Patients need to be counseled about genital herpes, including explanation of what the disease is and what the symptoms are, and how prevalent it is.
2. Patients need to know their personal risk of having, acquiring or transmitting genital herpes.
3. People need to know that STD screening is disease-specific and that routine screening for herpes is not conducted unless specifically requested of the health care provider.
4. Patients need to have access to compassionate counseling about genital herpes.
5. Patients need to know, understand and have access to all treatment options.
6. Accurate, type-specific blood testing for genital herpes needs to be made available to anyone who requests it.
7. Accurate type-specific serologic testing for genital herpes needs to be routinely offered to anyone requesting an STD evaluation. If such tests are not available, the patient should be informed that the evaluation did not include a test for genital herpes.
8. All pregnant women need to be informed about the risk of neonatal herpes and how the availability of serologic tests for genital herpes may help providers monitor mothers and protect infants from transmission. These accurate tests are also helpful in monitoring males since women who become infected with HSV during pregnancy are at highest risk of neonatal transmission.
9. Patients need to be offered accurate, up-to-date information on genital herpes.
10. Patients should know that there are confidential hotlines available for questions and counseling. The National Herpes Hotline can answer your questions about herpes.

This is only the first draft of ASHA's Patients' Bill of Rights concerning genital herpes. ASHA hope to use these statements as a platform for patient and provider discussion and consensus. We would like your thoughts on these statements. Do you think they are true? Did we forget anything? Do you think this declaration will be helpful in educating both patients and providers about genital herpes issues? Please send us your thoughts by contacting us here.