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An Oregon anesthesiologist has been suspended after possibly exposing patients at Portland-area hospitals to infectious diseases.
More than 2,000 patients at Providence Portland Willamette Falls Medical Center and Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in the Portland area have been notified they may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis, according to KGW8.
Legacy Health, a hospital operator whose facilities were affected, said it would send letters to 221 patients it believed were affected, the outlet reported.
The “infection control violation” came from a third-party anesthesiologist who had been hired by Oregon Anesthesiology Group. The doctor had been providing care at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center for six months.
He began his role in December 2023, the outlet reported.
“As soon as we became aware of this situation, we immediately suspended the provider and launched a thorough investigation in accordance with regulations and our policies and procedures,” Legacy Health said in a statement.
According to the outlet, Providence said 2,200 patients at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center and two at its Portland Medical Center facility were notified of the breach.
The organization also told KGW8 that the outbreak was linked to a healthcare professional, who is no longer employed by the anesthesia group. Legacy changed providers, which delayed hundreds of surgeries, KGW8 reported.
Neither organization provided details on how patients may have been directly exposed to the diseases. Providence, however, said its patients were at “low risk” of exposure to hepatitis B and C and HIV.
“As a precautionary measure, we encourage these patients to have a blood test for the above infections, free of charge. If a patient tests positive, Providence will contact them to discuss their test results and next steps,” the company said.
“Patient safety is our number one priority and our patients benefit from our full commitment to thoroughly reviewing this issue and taking appropriate action.”
In a statement, Oregon Anesthesiology Group, the company that employed the anesthesiologist in question, said:
“The safety of our patients is our top priority. When we learned the physician had violated infection control practices, we suspended him, notified our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then launched an investigation that resulted in the physician’s termination.
“Although the risk of infection is low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.”
The Oregon Health Authority said it is not aware of any illnesses linked to the potential breach.
The doctor at the center of the scandal allegedly used “unacceptable infection control practices that put patients at risk of infection,” the agency said in a statement.
“While news of this infection control breach at Legacy Mt Hood Medical Center and Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center may be upsetting to some, it is important to know that Oregon health care providers employ highly trained and knowledgeable infection preventionists and laboratory personnel who are leading the charge to prevent health care-associated infections.”
News Source : www.independent.co.uk
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