Thirteen dialysis patients at Boston Medical Center were exposed to hepatitis B partially because contract nurses were not given access to the hospital's electronic medical record system, according to a Boston Globe report.
The nurses were unaware that one dialysis patient was infected with hepatitis B based on inaccurate verbal information, and failed to take the extra steps required when cleaning the dialysis machines for the next patients, according to the report.
A state health department official concluded the error could have been avoided had the nurses been given access to the hospital's EMR system, according to the report.
None of the exposed patients have tested positive, according to the report.
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