VETERANS GET HEPATITIS AND HIV FROM INSULIN INJECTIONS--SAD

Insulin injection errors may have exposed veterans to viruses--VERY SAD

"(CNN) -- Hundreds of veterans may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV because of medical oversights that allowed insulin pens to be used on more than one patient at a Veterans Administration hospital in Buffalo, New York, according to a memo from the Department of Veterans Affairs to Congress.

"On November 1, 2012, officials at the (Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System) reported that while conducting pharmacy inspection rounds on the inpatient units, they discovered that insulin pens intended for individual patient use were found in the supply drawer of the medication carts without a patient label on them," said the memo, obtained by CNN through the office of U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-New York. "Although the disposable needles were changed each time it was used, the insulin pens intended for individual patient use may have been used on more than one patient."

"There is a very small chance that some patients could have been exposed to the hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus, or HIV, based on practices identified at the facility," the congressional memo states. "(The health system) determined that all veterans who were prescribed the insulin pen during an inpatient stay from October 19, 2010, to November 1, 2012, should be notified."

The veterans' health care system has found that 716 patients may have been affected during this time period, Jim Blue, regional director of the VA's Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, told CNN. "Veterans and their families will have an opportunity to speak with a nurse who will answer questions they may have and assist with managing followup care," Blue said..."