Governor Spitzer said that the NY State Department of Health's response regarding the Nassau County doctor exposed over 600 patients to hepatitis C and HIV was "unacceptably slow" and ordered an investigation. Dr. Harvey Finkelstein, an anesthesiologist, reused syringes and multiple-dose medicine vials between January 2000 and January 2005; some patients learned they had contracted hepatitis in 2005, but the state and Nassau County officials waited 34 months to contact other patients.
It turns out that it took health officials so long to let patients know because of , per the NY Times, "prolonged negotiations between the doctor and Health Department over access to his patient records." Really? That must make the patients who contracted hepatitis C, like Raymond Bookstaver, feel really good.
Newsday notes how Spitzer, who said, "The Department of Health has no more important objective than the safety of the public and clearly its response was not what it should have been," also made it clear that the case occurred during the Pataki era.
One issue that's been mentioned is how the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is 30 months, which would mean some patients might not be able to sue Finkelstein. But some legal experts tell Newsday that a judge can extend the period to file lawsuits, if the judge feels information was withheld deliberately. And now, it turns out 23 NYPD police officers were treated by Finkelstein.
Thought some elected officials want Finkelstein removed from medical practice, he is still practicing medicine at his Plainview clinic. He released this statement, including the phrase that during a Department of Health visit, "he may have been observed using an improper multidose vial technique"; also: "Also, as a specific request of the DOH, he did not personally contact these patients as the DOH indicated it wanted to handle such notifications on its own." The CDC has recommended that single vial doses be used
Newsday has more coverage on the hepatitis scare.
Helpful graphic by the NY Times illustrating how a doctor could reuse a syringe (all while using new needles).
