HONOReform (Hepatitis Outbreaks National Organization for Reform) – is a patient advocacy organization that seeks to promote adherence to injection safety guidelines and increase governmental oversight of outpatient medical facilities. In addition to promoting lessons learned from outbreaks of hepatitis C, the organization advocates for a more compassionate response to large scale medical disasters.[1]
HONOReform was founded by patients and families impacted by a Nebraska outbreak of hepatitis C in which 99 cancer patients were infected when doctors and nurses at their oncology clinic were found to have reused syringes. For years it remained the largest outbreak of hepatitis C in American healthcare history, though similar tragedies continue to occur.
Since 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has documented 33 outbreaks of hepatitis B and C as a result of negligent injection safety practices in nonhospital healthcare settings. In January 2009, the Annals of Internal Medicine noted over 60,000 patients have been verified by the CDC to be potentially exposed to hepatitis in the outbreaks and that these outbreaks are likely only "the tip of the iceberg".[2][3]