Hospitals in Three States Offer Patients Free Medical Laboratory Tests Following Arrest of Surgical Technician for Allegedly Stealing Fentanyl from Operating Room
A 1999 case involving California phlebotomist charged with reusing needles resulted in similar widespread testing of thousands of patients
Because of possible exposure to HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C from a healthcare worker, thousands of patients treated in multiple hospitals in different states are being offered free clinical laboratory testing. This situation is attracting national media attention and is a reminder to pathologists and medical laboratory professionals of the increased transparency that is being given to different types of medical errors that expose patients to risk.
A surgical technologist who allegedly stole the drug fentanyl from multiple hospitals provides an example of how the healthcare system can miss systematic misconduct by individual employees that can put thousands of patients at risk. (more…)
