The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services' recommendations for safe injections and drug diversion prevention, which it developed in response to a hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter (N.H.) Hospital last year, could trigger a national discussion on safe injection practices and drug diversion, according to a Seacoastonline report.
Last year, a technician at Exeter Hospital, who no longer works there, allegedly injected himself with the pain killer fentanyl before using the same syringe on other patients, infecting 32 people with hepatitis C, according to the report. In response, the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services developed recommendations for safe injections and the prevention of drug diversion.
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Joseph Perz, DrPH, the prevention team leader for the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said these recommendations and lessons learned in other states should be used to create a national policy for patient safety, according to the report.
HONOReform, part of the CDC's Safe Injection Practices Coalition, is also working to expand New Hampshire's model for drug diversion prevention and safe injections into a national model for safe practices, according to the report.
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