Questions remain as Oregon patients receive notice of HIV, hepatitis exposure

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – Thousands of hospital patients in Oregon are in the process of receiving notice that they may have been exposed to life-threatening illnesses by a former anesthesiologist.

Nearly 2,400 patients who underwent anesthesia at two Providence and Legacy locations could be at risk of infections such as hepatitis B and C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to the Oregon Health Authority.

However, local hospitals and OHA have continued to decline interviews with the media—instead standing by their original brief statements and refusing to speak on camera.

“As soon as they can, they should sort of really speak to the public and just be honest about it, and transparent about it,” Health services researcher Dr. Azza Abudagga with Public Citizen Health Research said. “Because I think every patient who has been seen in these hospitals are anxious.”

On Thursday, Providence and Legacy began notifying Oregonians of their exposure.

Providence is in the process of notifying about 2,200 patients seen at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center along with two patients seen at Providence Portland Medical Center by mail or a MyChart notification.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Legacy Health said they are notifying 221 patients by mail.

The physician was employed by the Oregon Anesthesiology Group, which no longer provides services for Providence, the hospital system spokesperson said, noting the physician no longer works for OAG.

In a statement, an OAG spokesperson said they terminated the physician following an investigation. The provider added that even though the risk of infection was low they have, “New protocols and procedures put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

But Tom D’Amore, Managing Partner of D’Amore Law Group said those protocols should have already been in place.

“For the 2,000 people that are potentially infected, what were those procedures in place? Why weren’t these new procedures in place back then to have prevented this? Because prevention is the most important thing, particularly in the hospital context,” he said.

It remains unclear which specific protocols were violated, and the exact timeline for the exposures has yet to be confirmed for the public.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are encouraging these patients to get a blood test to screen for the aforementioned infections, at no cost. If a patient tests positive, Providence will reach out to discuss their test results and next steps,” Providence said in a statement. “Patient safety is our number one priority, and our patients have our full commitment to a thorough review of this issue and appropriate action.”

And though the hospitals claim potential for infection is low, health services researcher Dr. Azza Abudagga with Public Citizen Health Research said this breach never should have happened.

“The onus shouldn’t be on the patient to go and search the background, and the malpractice history of the person who’s going to administer the anesthesia. That burden should be on the hospital, not on the patient,” Dr. Abudagga said.

According to Dr. Abudagga, cases like this are incredibly rare: Of the 66 health care-associated hepatitis B and C outbreaks recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2008 and 2019, 94% occurred outside of hospitals, which have protocols in place to prevent breaches.

As of Thursday’s announcement, OHA said the agency is not aware of any reported illnesses associated with the breach.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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