Don't be surprised if your doctor recommends HIV testing

The Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, focused much of a recent issue on HIV screening and the latest recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

It says doctors should screen all patients ages 15 to 65, and anyone outside of that age range who is sexually active.

"I think a lot of people are taken aback by this. They'll come to the clinic, and we'll say, 'OK, we're going to check your cholesterol and glucose, and we should really screen for HIV.' And people are like, 'Wait, what?'" Dr. Jon Hallberg, medical director of the University of Minnesota Physicians Mill City Clinic, told MPR News host Tom Crann.

"People should almost be opting out rather than opting in," he said. "The idea is, if we're screening everybody who is potentially sexually active then we're not being pejorative about who we're asking."

To hear more of the conversation, including the task force's other recommendations and why some of them could be difficult to pull off, click play on the media player above.

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