A Tauranga pharmacist used a ruler to push medication across a counter to a Bay woman with HIV, according to an advocate.
Marama Pala said the hurtful incident happened a few months ago and was reported by one of the people she supports in the Bay of Plenty.
It was just one example of the kind of discrimination and ignorance people with HIV or Aids faced today, she said.
Speaking ahead of World Aids Day today, Pala, the Tirau-based HIV-positive executive director of the Maori, Indigenous and South Pacific HIV and Aids Foundation, said there were about 300 people in the Bay of Plenty with HIV.
She could name none willing to speak publicly about life with the illness because they feared being ostracised or judged unfairly.
"There is still a stigma."
Having HIV, she said, was "not as scary as it used to be".
When she contracted the virus in 1993 she had to take more than 20 pills a day. Today she takes three a day, managing what was once a death sentence as a chronic illness.
She has had two children without passing on the virus and said she was leading a relatively normal life.
The kinds of discrimination she faced in the decade after she went public - neighbours trying to force her to move, issues with schools and daycares where parents did not want their children mixing with hers - had eased in recent years.
"People think you can catch it off a cup or toilet seat. People think it's an easy virus to contract and the truth is it's very difficult."
It was usually passed through unprotected sex, sharing needles and mothers passing it on to children.
As most people did not publicise their illness, discrimination complaints usually related to interactions with health professionals - GPs, pharmacists, people taking samples, she said.
The foundation was working on an education campaign for health professionals.
A new online tool has also been launched to help HIV positive people be more comfortable talking to medical professionals about their illness.
The Unity Tool, to be introduced this month, is a questionnaire about their life, health and habits patients can fill out ahead of appointments.
"This is about empowering the person living with HIV to have a better quality of life," Pala said.