Officials in New York are reporting that they've found yet another hepatitis-positive patient among those seeing Long Island anesthesiologist Dr. Harvey Finkelstein. Officials are now asking patients seen by the anesthesiologist to be tested for two types of hepatitis as well as HIV. The disclosure comes almost three years after officials discovered some serious lapses in Dr. Finkelstein's infection-control practices, including the misuse of syringes. Dr. Finkelstein was never disciplined by the state's Office of Professional Medical Conduct, however, because when the problems were discovered, he changed his practices to conform to CDC standards.
In addition to being investigated for poor infection-control practices, Dr. Finkelstein has settled 10 malpractice lawsuits with patients over the last 10 years, a level of litigation occurring in only a tenth of 1 percent of all doctors, according to statistics from a 2003 survey by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
To learn more about these issues:
- read this piece from The New York Times
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