Third federal report stems from Las Vegas hepatitis C outbreak

By Mary Manning (contact)

Friday, March 27, 2009 | 3:18 p.m.

A new federal report released today highlights the need for nationwide data and spot checks on ambulatory surgical centers similar to a Las Vegas endoscopy center that infected eight people with hepatitis C last year.

The General Accounting Office report was released by Reps. Henry A. Waxman, Frank Pallone, Jr., and Shelley Berkley. It is the third such report reviewing ambulatory surgical centers nationwide after health officials had to notify 50,000 people treated at the Las Vegas clinic in 2007 into 2008.

The notification efforts by health officials in Las Vegas launched a federal survey into practices at outpatient clinics nationwide.

The GAO report, Health-Care Associated Infections: HHS Action Needed to Obtain Nationally Representative Data on Risks in Ambulatory Surgical Centers, said that there is a "compelling need" for current and nationally representative data from such outpatient centers and calls for the acting Health and Human Service secretary to develop and implement a written plan to conduct recurring periodic surveys at random of such centers.

"In all of its work on health care associated infection, GAO has consistently identified gaps in data about the prevalence of these avoidable infections as an issue that HHS must address," said Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "Although we know health care associated infections are a deadly public health problem, our surveillance is so poor we still don't even know whether these infections kill tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands each year."

The report found that health care records of such infections are so fragmented that there is no way to track them consistently.

"This report once again highlights the need for standardized and accurate data on the prevalence of health care associated infections," said Pallone, chairman of the subcommittee on health. "It is clear that we need to do a better job of gathering this information so we can use the data to protect the American public from preventable infections that can cause serious injury or even death."

Berkley said that the latest GAO report indicates lapses of safety procedure that resulted in more than 50,000 Southern Nevada residents being notified of their potential exposure to hepatitis C, hepatitis B or HIV infections.

"Since this outbreak was uncovered, more than 100 of these Nevadans have now tested positive (for hepatitis C)," Berkley said. "And we know this is far from an isolated event."

While guidelines and standards exist, the nation lacks the mechanisms to ensure they are followed, Berkley said. "I agree with the recommendations in this report that recurring periodic surveys of randomly selected ambulatory surgery centers should be conducted and more resources devoted to ensuring compliance with existing Medicare standards," she said.