Medical Malpractice at Oklahoma Clinic Highlights Need for Greater Oversight

by Attorney Greg Perenich

Last week CNN and other news outlets reported that over 7,000 patients in Tulsa, Oklahoma were negligently exposed to unsanitary medical procedures and other dangerous healthcare practices. Now these patients are being told they are at risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis. Investigators found that patients of Dr. W. Scott Harrington were exposed to unsafe medical practices during the past 6 years at two of Dr. Harrington’s dental clinics. The patients are being advised to get tested for AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. As a result of the investigation, the Oklahoma State Board of Dentistry filed a multiple count complaint against the doctor pending a license revocation hearing.

Executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, Susan Rogers reported that conditions at Harrington’s dental practice left investigators nearly speechless. “I will tell you that when…we left, we were just physically kind of sick,” she stated, after visiting the office. “I mean, that’s how bad [it was], and I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff over the years.”
Patients also underwent “unauthorized, unlicensed” sedation by employees, with Harrington’s permission. The official complaint states that there were various violations, including “multiple sterilization issues, multiple cross-contamination issues, [and] the drug cabinet was unlocked and unattended.” In all, Harrington is accused of 17 violations, including negligence and “being a menace to the public health.” He faces possible punishment including the revocation of his license and his patients are being offered HIV and hepatitis testing, free of charge. For more information on the investigation, see the article titled  “Dentist’s Office A ‘Perfect Storm’ for HIV, Hepatitis Exposure” at CNN.com.

Last year in the wake on an outbreak of fungal meningitis across 20 states, patient safety advocates were calling for greater oversight and stiffer regulations of injectable medications. Thus far it’s been reported that 51 people died and over 700 others became infected from hundreds of tainted steroid injections. It appears these victims received injectable steroid solutions from the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. Health officials have linked the outbreak to contaminated vials of steroids compounded at that facility. According to the Centers for Disease Control the company, which has since filed for Bankruptcy, was not inspecting the vials before sending them to hospitals and pain clinics. In related news, Michigan’s attorney general has called for a criminal investigation of the compounding company.

Both of these public health calamities are alarming and should provoke appropriate measures in the inspection and oversight process. Lawmakers now have a clear mandate to forge a new path to protect patients from being needlessly exposed to these and similar types of deadly diseases and infections. Inspections should be done randomly and without advance notice to the facilities. They should also be done more frequently and include sampling of surgical instruments and medications. Without adoption of these standards, the public will continue to be exposed to unnecessary risk. Clearly, these regulatory improvements are needed to restore patient confidence. As far as the grim discoveries in Tulsa, the fact that regulators did not learn of the unsanitary conditions and obvious deficiencies in basic hygiene for such an extended period and they were allowed to occur seemingly unabated for over 6 years is both baffling and unacceptable. Sweeping changes in the healthcare system to prevent infection and contracting of diseases is long overdue and should be done in a transparent manner so the public knows when healthcare professionals fall short in this area. When inspections are done, they are conducted in secret and the public is deprived of the essential findings. This only begets a broken system with no deterrence in place for the worst offenders. It is incumbent upon all of us to demand nothing less to our healthcare system.

In the area of compounding medications, we need clearer statutory guidance and assignment of duties among regulators. We have been told the FDA is not responsible for regulation of compounding pharmacies, but this is ripe for needed change. It should not be up to state regulators to bear regulatory oversight. As patients, we should have complete confidence that compounding pharmacies are adhering to nationally recognized standards. And as far as the doctors that inject such medications on an outpatient basis, at a minimum they should be fully trained in proper injection techniques. At a basic level they ought to be board certified in anesthesiology or pain management to avoid unintended consequences to patients. All patient safety protocols should be in place in the event of adverse consequences, with proper monitoring and resuscitative equipment immediately available. It is incumbent upon all of us to demand nothing less from our healthcare system.

Attorney Greg Perenich has been a Florida lawyer for over 25 years. He devotes a substantial portion of his practice to representing patients and their families aggrieved by unacceptable medical care. He is a member of The Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Florida Justice Association. He is rated as an “Excellent” attorney by AVVO. He works with accredited medical professionals to determine if deficient medical care, medication errors or pharmacy malpractice caused injury or death to patients. He is available for initial consultation without charge at his principal office in Clearwater, Florida.