Joel Jones and Amy Plant
1 day ago
Portland, Oregon (coin) – Thousands of hospitalized patients in Oregon Have a life-threatening illness By a former anesthesiologist.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, about 2,400 patients who received anesthesia at Providence and Legacy may have been at risk for infection with hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
However, local hospitals and OHA continue to decline to give media interviews, instead Original short statement And he refused to speak on camera.
“The sooner they can, the more honest and transparent they can be with the public,” said Dr. Aza Abdaga, a health services researcher at Public Citizen Health Research, “because I think any patient who has been seen in these hospitals is going to be anxious.”
On Thursday, Providence and Legacy began notifying Oregonians of the potential exposure.
Providence is in the process of notifying about 2,200 patients who were seen at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center and two patients who were seen at Providence Portland Medical Center by mail or phone. My Chart notification.
Meanwhile, a Legacy Health spokesperson said 221 patients have been notified by mail.
The doctor was employed by the Oregon Anesthesiology Group, which no longer provides services to Providence, a spokesperson for the hospital system said, noting that the doctor no longer works for OAG.
An OAG spokesman said in a statement that following an investigation the doctor had been fired, adding that while the risk of infection was low, “new procedures and protocols have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
But Tom D’Amore, managing partner at the D’Amore Law Firm, said such protocols should already be in place.
“What procedures were in place for 2,000 potentially infected people? Why weren’t new procedures in place at the time to prevent this? Because prevention is paramount, especially in a hospital situation,” he said.
It remains unclear what specific protocols were violated, and the exact time of the exposure has not yet been made public.
“Out of an abundance of caution, these patients are being encouraged to undergo free blood testing to screen for the aforementioned infectious diseases. If a patient tests positive, Providence will be in contact to discuss the test results and next steps,” Providence said in a statement. “Patient safety is our number one priority, and we assure patients that we will thoroughly review this matter and take appropriate action.”
While the hospital insists the risk of infection is low, Dr Aza Abdaga, a health services researcher at Public Citizen Health Research, said the breach should never have happened.
“Patients should not be responsible for checking the background or malpractice history of the person administering the anesthesia. That burden should be on the hospital, not the patient,” Dr. Abdaga said.
Such cases are extremely rare, Dr. Abdaga said: Between 2008 and 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 66 healthcare-associated outbreaks of hepatitis B and C, and 94% of those occurred outside of hospitals where procedures are in place to prevent violations.
OHA said as of Thursday’s publication that it was not aware of any reports of illnesses linked to the incursion.
Stay tuned to KOIN 6 News as this story develops.
