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August 31. 2012 2:11AM
State reduces number of health workers for hepatitis C testing
EXETER — State public health officials have reduced the number of employees and clinicians recommended for testing as part of the hepatitis C probe from about 500 to fewer than 100.
The hospital said it was told Wednesday that the Division of Public Health Services had “significantly narrowed” its recommendation for voluntary employee testing, a move that would require fewer employees to be tested.
The state recently asked the hospital to test a group of employees in the wake of the hepatitis C outbreak allegedly caused by medical technician David Kwiatkowski. He is accused of infecting 32 former patients through drug diversion.
The state wants the additional employee testing to rule out involvement from other workers in the outbreak.
The hospital said that while the state asked that the testing be done voluntarily, it has expressed concerns regarding the “breadth” of the state’s original request for employee testing based on the information made available to it by the state. However, the hospital reported that it has complied with the state’s recommendations.
“This is a fluid situation and Exeter Hospital will continue to cooperate with the state’s investigation, but in so doing will not jeopardize the legitimate privacy rights of patients and employees,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday.
The reduction in the number of employees to be tested was announced at the same that the hospital took legal action in Merrimack County Superior Court amid concerns that the state is breaking patient privacy laws by seeking “broad access” to patient medical records.
The hospital filed a petition for declaratory judgment and a motion for a protective order that it hopes would prevent the state from accessing some of the records. The hospital said it would like to provide the state with “limited” access to records to avoid any violations of state and federal laws.
Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards has said the state isn’t seeking any medical record information that would violate the law.
Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.
The hospital said it was told Wednesday that the Division of Public Health Services had “significantly narrowed” its recommendation for voluntary employee testing, a move that would require fewer employees to be tested.
The state recently asked the hospital to test a group of employees in the wake of the hepatitis C outbreak allegedly caused by medical technician David Kwiatkowski. He is accused of infecting 32 former patients through drug diversion.
The state wants the additional employee testing to rule out involvement from other workers in the outbreak.
The hospital said that while the state asked that the testing be done voluntarily, it has expressed concerns regarding the “breadth” of the state’s original request for employee testing based on the information made available to it by the state. However, the hospital reported that it has complied with the state’s recommendations.
“This is a fluid situation and Exeter Hospital will continue to cooperate with the state’s investigation, but in so doing will not jeopardize the legitimate privacy rights of patients and employees,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday.
The reduction in the number of employees to be tested was announced at the same that the hospital took legal action in Merrimack County Superior Court amid concerns that the state is breaking patient privacy laws by seeking “broad access” to patient medical records.
The hospital filed a petition for declaratory judgment and a motion for a protective order that it hopes would prevent the state from accessing some of the records. The hospital said it would like to provide the state with “limited” access to records to avoid any violations of state and federal laws.
Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards has said the state isn’t seeking any medical record information that would violate the law.
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Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.
