Medical technicians would have to register with the state under a bill passed Wednesday by the New Hampshire House. The measure was prompted by an outbreak of Hepatitis C at Exeter Hospital, where an employee reused needles on patients resulting in 32 infections. The employee had been accused of drug diversion at similar hospitals but continued to gain employment.
The proposed law would create a body similar to the state’s Board of Medicine or Nursing with the authority to investigate complaints and suspend employment.
The N.H. Hospital Association, Attorney General and Department of Health and Human Services backed the bill, which now heads to the House Ways and Means Committee. Opponents of the measure argued it could harm job creation.
