How Can I Get Tested?

HIV testing is confidential free, easy,
 and available wherever you access health care.

You can get a test by:

Asking for one at your next doctor’s appointment nominal; non-nominal

Getting on demand testing by visiting a Valley Medical Laboratory or an Interior Health laboratory nominal

Going to a clinic
and asking for a test  nominal; non-nominal

Calling 1-866-778-7736 to arrange a test with a health outreach nurse anonymous

Getting checked online;
visit getcheckedonline.com  nominal

Not opting out of a test during a visit to an emergency department that involves having blood taken  nominal

What type of HIV testing is right for me?

Get Checked Online

(Vancouver, Victoria, Duncan, Kamloops and Nelson residents)

A confidential and convenient HIV testing alternative is available for people  living in or near Vancouver, Victoria, Duncan, Kamloops, and Nelson.  Getting checked online means you can be tested for HIV and other sexually  transmitted infections (STIs) without visiting a doctor or nurse. This is a  great testing option if you aren’t comfortable visiting your family doctor or  can’t get to a clinic for testing.

More Info

On Demand HIV Testing

If you wish to have an HIV test, you can now ask for one without a requisition (request form) at all Valley Medical Laboratories and Interior Health laboratories in the Interior Health region.

Simply tell the receptionist you are there for an HIV test, or ask the lab technician to include the HIV test with your other blood work. You can also print a requisition from the Valley Medical Laboratories website and bring it with you to the lab.

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If you are negative for HIV, you will NOT be contacted by the lab and the lab will not have your results. You can phone toll-free to 1-866-778-7736 to request your results two weeks after your lab test.

If you are positive for HIV, you will receive a phone call from an Interior Health nurse. The nurse will provide support, education and follow-up care and will help to connect you with a doctor if you don’t have one.

Health Outreach Nurses

If you wish to have an anonymous HIV test, outside of a clinic or lab, a health outreach nurse is available across the Interior Health region to provide discreet, confidential, and non-judgmental HIV testing. The nurse will meet you where you are at to conduct the test.

Call 1-866-778-7736 to arrange a test today.

Emergency Department Testing

HIV tests may be included in blood work done in the emergency department. This simple HIV blood test will be completed with all your other blood tests in the hospital unless you decline the HIV test.

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If you are negative for HIV, in most cases, no follow-up will be done and you won’t be contacted. If you wish, you can ask your family doctor for the result. If you don’t have a family doctor, you can call 1-866-778-7736 to get your results.

If you are positive for HIV and your test result comes back while you are in the hospital, your doctor will tell you. You will then be connected to an Interior Health outreach nurse.

If your test result comes back after you have left the hospital, an Interior Health outreach nurse will call you, typically within 5-14 days.

The test is not able to detect very early HIV infection. If you think you may have been exposed to HIV in the last six weeks, tell your health-care provider.

If you do not want to have the test in the emergency department, please choose one of the other options.

What type of HIV reporting is right for me?

Your Privacy is Your Right

In BC, there are a number of ways that you can get an HIV test. You can provide as much personal information as you are comfortable giving when you receive an HIV test.

If you need help deciding what type of testing and reporting is best for you, or if you have decided, a health outreach nurse is available across the Interior Health region to provide discreet, confidential, and non-judgmental information about HIV testing and reporting. Call 1-866-778-7736 to discuss and/or arrange a test today.

No matter what testing and reporting option you choose, all HIV testing in British Columbia is confidential. If your HIV test is positive, support and treatment are available for you.

Types of reporting:

Nominal

You can use your full name and give a way to be reached (address, phone number, email). If positive, your result is reported to public health using your name and contact information. This is called nominal reporting.

Non-Nominal

You can test using your full name and give your contact information to your health care provider, but ask that the test be reported to public health without using your name. Your provider will indicate this on the laboratory form.  If positive, your result is reported to public health using your initials, and no contact information is shared. This is called non-nominal reporting.

Anonymous

Anonymous HIV testing is different from other types of HIV testing because your name, alias, or initials are not attached to your result and your contact information is never collected. Instead, you are given a testing code number that only you know.

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When your HIV test result is ready, the health-care provider will not be able to contact you, so it is your responsibility to call or return to the clinic to get your result. You must provide your testing code number to get your result.

In the Interior Health region, you can receive an anonymous HIV test from a health outreach nurse. Health outreach nurses are available in your area to meet you where you are at and provide discreet, anonymous, and non-judgmental HIV testing.

HIV is a reportable infection in BC, which means that positive HIV test results are reported to public health so that support can be provided to the person who has tested positive. With an anonymous HIV test, the result is reported to public health using only a numbered code. If you test anonymously and your result is positive, you can still get support and treatment. When you decide to get treatment, you will need to get another HIV test using your real name to confirm your status. If your anonymous HIV test is negative, no further follow-up will be needed.

No matter what option you choose, all HIV testing in British Columbia is confidential. If your HIV test is positive, then support and treatment are available for you.

How Can I Get Tested?

What type of HIV testing is right for me?

Get Checked Online

On Demand HIV Testing

Health Outreach Nurses

Emergency Department Testing

What type of HIV reporting is right for me?

Nominal

Non-Nominal

Anonymous

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