More Than 2,400 Oregon Patients May Have Been Exposed to HIV and Hepatitis by 1 Doctor

Several hospitals in the Portland area used an outsourced anesthesiology group whose physician may have exposed thousands to disease

More than 2,400 patients in Oregon may have been exposed to infectious diseases — including Hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV.

An anesthesiologist, who was employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG) and worked at several Oregon hospitals, may not have followed “comprehensive infection control practices,” the Providence medical group said in a statement Thursday.

The physician was not named, but had worked at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Providence Portland Medical Center and other non-Providence hospitals in the Portland area.

“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 continued.

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The statement added that Providence no longer works with OAG, which has since terminated the physician.

Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center — which also used OAG — issued a similar statement regarding exposure to their patients, according to NBC News.

The affected patients have been notified; In its statement, Providence said “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.”

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The exact ways the infection control practices were not followed were not disclosed, but per the American Society of Anesthesiologists, protocols include “use of double gloves,” “disinfecting high-touch surfaces on the anesthesia machines,” and using “syringes and vials for only one patient."

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In total, about 2,200 patients from Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, two patients from Providence Portland Medical Center and 221 patients from Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center were exposed.

“The safety of our patients is our top priority,” Scott Gallagher, a spokesperson for OAG, said in a statement to local outletOregon Live.

“When we learned that the physician had violated infection control practices, we suspended him, informed our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then began an investigation that resulted in the physician’s termination. Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

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