State says syringe probe patient list growing

BY MICHAEL AMON | michael.amon@newsday.com

10:15 PM EST, November 23, 2007

Nearly 375 patients of a Plainview anesthesiologist accused of reusing syringes have told the state Department of Health they should have been notified of a risk for blood-borne diseases because they received injections, officials said Friday.

It still remains unclear exactly how many patients of Dr. Harvey Finkelstein, who lives in Dix Hills, were not included in what officials now say was an incomplete mailing on Nov. 10 to 628 patients. But, with more than 1,100 people calling a state hotline in the past 10 days, Health Department officials said the number of patients put at risk for HIV and hepatitis B and C through Finkelstein's reuse of syringes would be in the thousands.

Friday, the Health Department blamed the incomplete notification on Finkelstein's outdated billing system, the source of patient names and addresses for the Nov. 10 letter.

It turns out that the anesthesiologist changed billing systems in 2004, but some patients were not transferred into the new database while others were not categorized as having received injections when in fact they had, Health Department spokeswoman Claudia Hutton said.

Finkelstein last weekend turned over his databases to the Health Department, which say they include records for 4,975 patients. It's unclear how many of them received injections. Finkelstein did not return a phone message seeking comment.

"A new notification list is in effect being compiled," Hutton said. "We're telling people, if you got an injection, we recommend you get tested."

At least 726 patients have already been sent certified letters saying they were at risk -- 98 in May 2005 and 628 this month. Hutton said 43 letters sent this month have been returned as "undeliverable," sending investigators scrambling to find new contact information.

The Health Department has been heavily criticized for taking too long to notify the public of Finkelstein's flawed infection control practices. The department learned of the doctor's syringe reuse in January 2005 but did not tell most of his patients until this month.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has called the notification "unacceptably slow" and ordered an internal investigation. The State Senate Health Committee plans hearings, and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice also has opened a probe.

The Health Department has widened its investigation to include patients who received injections going back to 1993, when Finkelstein first opened his Plainview office. He also has an office in Massapequa. Patients who received injections from him but have not been notified should call 800-278-2965, which will be staffed this weekend, Hutton said.

At least one of Finkelstein's patients contracted hepatitis C in 2004 due to the doctor's contamination of multi-dose medicine vials through the reuse of syringes. The Office of Professional Medical Conduct, a state disciplinary board, investigated Finkelstein and did not cite him for any violations. He has since changed his procedures.