(Daily360.com) – An Oregon anesthesiologist has potentially exposed over 2,000 people to HIV and Hepatitis.
Facilities under the control of Legacy Health have potentially exposed patients to infectious diseases and they have sent letters to patients who may have been affected. The breach was from a third-party anesthesiologist that was working on a six-month contract at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center.
The contract was through the Oregon Anesthesiology Group and the specific anesthesiologist had been working at the facility since December 2023. Legacy Health has suspended services from the contractor after the breach and has informed 2,200 patients of the “infection control breach.”
The individual anesthesiologist has not been named, but he is no longer employed through the organization. Providence Portland Willamette Falls Medical Center, one of the Legacy Health institutions affected by the breach, said that their patients are at a low risk of exposure to Hepatitis A, B, and HIV. The medical center is suggesting all notified patients of the facility get a free blood screening out of an “abundance of caution.”
Providence said if the test results come back positive, they will have a discussion about the next steps. Oregon Anesthesiology Group said they immediately suspended the physician who violated infection control protocols. Then, they notified their partners at Legacy Health and began an investigation into the causes of the breach. The physician has now been terminated from his position.
The group said they have implemented new procedures and protocols to further prevent future infection breaches from occurring. According to health authorities, there are currently no reports of illnesses that have transpired from the infection breach.
The Oregon Health Authority is working with the medical facilities where the infection breach took place to determine what caused the violation of proper infection control practices. They are not investigating whether the facilities followed guidelines for licensing and certification. The Oregon Health Authority said the physician used “unacceptable infection control practices.”
Copyright 2024, Daily360.com
