Needle Exchange Program Remains in Limbo

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has completed its review of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s needle exchange program, and decided to suspend it over problems with the way the health department kept its records and dispensed needles. WCHS TV reports the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department could be allowed to restart the program if it can meet a long list of requirements including the collection of used syringes, offering Hepatitis A and B vaccines routinely, improving data collection, storage, and management, and requiring each patient to receive a unique identifier that can be used to track clinical behavioral behavior.