Even after problems were found with how endoscopes were cleaned at three Veterans Administration medical centers earlier this year, surprise inspections found that over half additional VA medical facilities visited could not demonstrate compliance with proper procedures for safely cleaning endoscopes after each use.

A report revealing the extent of problems from the VA Office of the Inspector General was discussed during a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation on July 16, 2009.

Congress member Steven Buyer, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, who requested the meeting to review the report said:

I asked for the InspectorGeneral to become involved after the Miami incident, because I suspected the problem was systemic. Now that we know it is, I am deeply concerned that this problem is expansive and it goes well beyond VA. What is happening at HHS and the Department of Defense? What is happening in our greater health system?

Read the rest of this entry »

The Miami Veterans Administration Health Care System is notifying 3,260 veterans of a potential health risk from endoscopies performed between May 2004 and March 12, 2009.  While the endoscopes themselves were cleaned and disinfected, an attached section of tubing was rinsed but not disinfected between procedures.

According to the Miami VA, this creates a small risk of infection with viruses Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).  Therefore, they are:

• Notifying patients who had endoscopies between May 2005 and March 12, 2009 of the risk for infection.
• Establishing a Special Care Call Center at (305) 575-7256 or 1-877-575-7256
  where patients can call with questions or to schedule an appointment for hepatitis or HIV blood testing.
• Opening Special Care Clinics for follow-up care and testing for potentially affected patients Miami VA Medical Center, the Broward County VA Clinic, the Homestead VA Clinic and the Key West VA Clinic.

The Miami VA Healthcare System emphasizes that follow-up testing is only a precaution and that they know of no patients who have acquired an infection after endoscopy performed during the targeted dates.  There is no cost or co-pay for testing, and patients are eligible for transportation assistance. Read the rest of this entry »