Thousands of Oregon hospital patients may have been exposed to hepatitis, HIV

After an anesthesiologist may have exposed thousands of people treated at several hospitals in Oregon to hepatitis and HIV , those patients are being advised to get tested for the diseases.

Two health care providers in Portland -- Providence and Legacy Health -- have been told to offer the tests as a safety precaution.

"We recently learned that Providence's comprehensive infection control practices may not have been followed by a physician during some procedures at Portland-area hospitals, including Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Providence Portland Medical Center and other non-Providence hospitals," Providence said in a statement issued Thursday. "The physician was employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG), which no longer provides services for Providence."

The physician is no longer employed by OAG, according to the statement.

"The actions of this physician might have put patients at a low risk of exposure to possible infections, including hepatitis B and C and human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]," the statement added.

The health care system is notifying about 2,220 patients seen at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center in Oregon City and two patients seen at Providence Portland Medical Center.

The company said the tests would be offered for free. If a patient tests positive, Providence will reach out to discuss next steps, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Legacy Health said it was reaching out to 211 patients treated at the Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham, Ore., who may have been exposed, NBC News reported.

"Upon learning of this situation, we immediately suspended the provider and launched a comprehensive investigation in accordance with regulations and with our policies and procedures," Legacy said in a statement.

A statement from Oregon Anesthesiology Group said that it had suspended the physician after launching its own investigation, NBC News reported.

"Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future," the group's statement said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on infection control in health-care settings .

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