Endoscopy center patients told how to get records

By Mary Manning

Thursday, July 10, 2008 | 4:33 p.m.

Metro Police has hired Chart 1, a private firm, to finish organizing about 120,000 endoscopy patient records after a cluster of hepatitis C cases were discovered at a local clinic.

Southern Nevada Health District, and state and federal health officials discovered in January a cluster of eight acute hepatitis C patients at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

That cluster prompted an investigation that is ongoing. More than 50,000 people have been notified -- in the largest notification in the nation's history -- to get tested for hepatitis B and C, and HIV as a result of procedures at several local clinics that did not follow standard medical practices.

Here is how patients may obtain records:

Patients treated at the Gastroenterology Center of Southern Nevada, Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center and the Gastroenterology Center of Nevada between January 2006 and March 2008 may submit requests to Chart 1 to receive copies of their records.

These written requests must include the medical release request form, which can be downloaded from the Metro Police Web site at www.lvmpd.com. Patients also can pick up the release request forms at any Metro Police area command center.

The request form must include a copy of photo identification, along with the mailing address that patients wish to have their records sent.

All requests should be sent to Chart 1, P.O. Box 95546, Las Vegas, NV, 89119-5546.

Patients who have not received their records within one week may call 828-0170 to check the status of their request. The phone line is a message recording service where patients can leave their name, phone number, birth date and last four digits of their Social Security number.

Patients will receive a return phone call within 24 hours.

Patients treated at the clinics before 2006 who want to obtain their records must send their requests to Gastro Center, P.O. Box 35140, Las Vegas, NV 89133.