APNewsBreak: Inspections show some VA facilities couldn’t prove they followed guidelines

WASHINGTON — Fewer than half of Veterans Affairs centers given a surprise inspection last month had proper training and guidelines in place for common endoscopic procedures such as colonoscopies — even after the agency learned that mistakes may have exposed thousands of veterans to HIV and other diseases.

AP NewsBreak: Inspections show some VA facilities couldn’t prove they followed guidelines

WASHINGTON — Fewer than half of Veterans Affairs centers given a surprise inspection last month had proper training and guidelines in place for common endoscopic procedures such as colonoscopies — even after the agency learned that mistakes may have exposed thousands of veterans to HIV and other diseases.

VA to tell House panel about mistakes with equipment used for colonoscopies, other procedures

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A congressional panel is pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs to disclose on Tuesday whether non-sterile equipment that may have exposed 10,000 veterans to HIV and other infections was isolated to three Southeast hospitals or is part of a wider problem.

US House panel to hear how equipment mistakes were made at 3 VA hospitals, risking infections

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — After months of health worries for more than 10,000 veterans, officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs are expected to face a congressional panel Tuesday and explain how mistakes at three hospitals in the Southeast may have exposed patients to HIV and other infectious diseases.

Congressional panel to analyze VA hospital mishaps that put patients at risk of HIV, hepatitis

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A congressional panel will question Department of Veterans Affairs officials about mistakes that put patients at risk of possible exposure to HIV and other infectious body fluids at three VA hospitals.

Medicare decides not to cover ‘virtual colonoscopy’ procedure

WASHINGTON — Medicare won’t pay for the so-called virtual colonoscopy procedure, concluding Tuesday that there’s inadequate evidence to support the cheaper, less intrusive alternative to the dreaded colonoscopy.

Doctor: Patients testing positive for HIV, hepatitis can’t link infections to VA hospitals

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Former patients who tested positive for HIV or hepatitis will not be able to show they were infected by tainted equipment at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, a top doctor for the agency said Friday.

VA: 5th HIV case linked to unsterile hospital equipment; 7 more test positive for hepatitis

MIAMI — A fifth patient has tested positive for HIV, and seven more tested positive for hepatitis after being exposed to contaminated medical equipment at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, the agency said Friday.

VA reports a 4th positive HIV test in wake of dirty hospital equipment, vets grow frustrated

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Thousands of veterans were at first shocked to learn they should get blood tests for HIV and hepatitis because three hospitals might have treated them with unsterile equipment. Now, just a couple of months after the Department of Veterans Affairs issued the dire warnings, veterans are growing frustrated by the lack of information from the tightlipped federal agency.