Vegas hepatitis C outbreak spurs new laws

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LAS VEGAS-State officials have praised new laws spurred by a hepatitis C outbreak in Las Vegas that led to the largest patient notification in U.S. history, saying it will lessen the chance for a similar problem in the future.

Five measures dealing with the issue were passed this session by Nevada lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The bills surfaced after more than 50,000 patients at two now-closed outpatient clinics were notified last year that they may have been exposed to blood-borne diseases by shoddy injection practices. Nine people contracted hepatitis C, and more than 100 other cases may be linked to the clinics.

Doctors and nurses at the two endoscopy centers were found to have been spreading the debilitating liver virus by reusing syringes and vials of anesthesia.

Michael Willden, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said he thinks the new laws will heighten awareness of proper protocols.

"I think the laws that have been passed to protect the public are absolutely a huge improvement," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "It (repeat incident) is far less likely. But I can't say we'll never have an infection-control event like that again."

Assemblyman Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, hailed a law that requires ambulatory surgical centers to be the subject of yearly, unannounced inspections rather than inspections every three to six years.

"It is much easier to keep things in line," Hardy, a physician. "It shows we won't tolerate bad medicine."

Larry Matheis, head of the Nevada State Medical Association, said the fact a nurse now will accompany all inspection teams to observe infection control should give Nevadans more confidence in the state's health care system.

"This can assist in immediate corrections," he said. "This may become a new national model."

Debra Scott, executive director of the Nevada State Board of Nursing, said some nurses were afraid to step forward in the outbreak case for fear of losing their jobs.

Two other new laws are designed to bridge potential gaps in communication during a public health crisis.

One requires the governor to determine if a public or health emergency needs a coordinated rsponse by a team of state officials. The other gives the Nevada State Health Division the power to immediately issue a cease-and-desist order at a facility where patient safety is in question.

"We now will have everyone on the same page in an emergency," said Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, chairwoman of the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee. "We had problems with coordinating what different offices were doing."

Another new law affirms that a health care professional's license can be suspended if the facility they own is investigated or disciplined for misconduct.

A measure easing malpractice award caps died in the Senate.

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