Hospital pharmacist may have exposed patients to HIV and Hep B & C

[rph3664]

Not to mention that they probably weren't getting their pain meds in the first place!

http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.co...l-pharmacist-expose-patients-hiv?cfcache=true



This is horrific!

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[Lnsean]

"Nurse!!! this morphine doesn't work!!!!"

 

[rph3664]

"Nurse!!! this morphine doesn't work!!!!"

Yet another variation of Robert Courtney.

The biggest mistake I have ever personally witnessed involved the morphine working a little TOO well. Turns out the patient got 2 1/2 times the dose ordered - and the people involved were the best tech and best pharmacist in the facility, so it's proof positive that it can happen to anybody. Fortunately, the patient made a full recovery after getting some Narcan, and nobody got into any trouble that I know of, which included the nurse who also missed it.

 

[BidingMyTime]

sickening beyond belief. He was already stealing morphine, yet he couldn't be bothered to steal syringes so at least he wasn't exposing patients to HIV?

 

[owlegrad]

sickening beyond belief. He was already stealing morphine, yet he couldn't be bothered to steal syringes so at least he wasn't exposing patients to HIV?

You know that was my takeaway as well.

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[y0ssarian87]

Reading the article briefly, I didn't see mention that he was in fact HIV+ (or had Hep B or C), simply that there was possible risk for bloodborne pathogen exposure due to the methods he used. Did I miss the fact that the pharmacist was HIV+? If he did have HIV, I'm sure he would've used clean syringes, if only to prevent being caught.


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[BidingMyTime]

Fair point. I assumed that if there was an HIV/Hep B-C scare, it was because he was positive for these, but you are right that that the article doesn't state that. I guess I would have expected that if the hospital knew he wasn't positive for these, the letter would have been more downplayed just saying "possible exposure to communicable diseases". But I'm not a lawyer, so I could be way off base.

I did find this other article that states that the hospital has not said whether or not he was positive/negative (indeed, because of privacy laws they really can't say.....but if he was negative, wouldn't the pharmacist be speaking out in his own defense?) This article does say that the pharmacist has had his licensed suspended in 1995 over alcoholism and lost his license in 2002 over stealing opoids (as well as being disciplined "several times in Pennsylvania" article doesn't say why.) I very much support giving people 2nd chances, but it seems like he blew his 2nd, 3rd, 4th chances long before this newest lapse.

http://www.nj.com/atlantic/index.ssf/2016/02/possible_hiv_hepatitis_infection_at_hospital_what.html

 

[ldiot]

Fair point. I assumed that if there was an HIV/Hep B-C scare, it was because he was positive for these, but you are right that that the article doesn't state that. I guess I would have expected that if the hospital knew he wasn't positive for these, the letter would have been more downplayed just saying "possible exposure to communicable diseases". But I'm not a lawyer, so I could be way off base.

I did find this other article that states that the hospital has not said whether or not he was positive/negative (indeed, because of privacy laws they really can't say.....but if he was negative, wouldn't the pharmacist be speaking out in his own defense?) This article does say that the pharmacist has had his licensed suspended in 1995 over alcoholism and lost his license in 2002 over stealing opoids (as well as being disciplined "several times in Pennsylvania" article doesn't say why.) I very much support giving people 2nd chances, but it seems like he blew his 2nd, 3rd, 4th chances long before this newest lapse.

http://www.nj.com/atlantic/index.ssf/2016/02/possible_hiv_hepatitis_infection_at_hospital_what.html

I agree. I was under the impression that if you steal narcs you're done... surprised that he not only had a license but actually managed to find a job with that record. That being said I doubt he was HIV positive/spread anything... based on the wording of the article it seemed like dramatic effect.

 

[gwarm01]

My first thought was "will the public now be surprised that a pharmacist was allowed to prepare IV medications in a hospital instead of someone more qualified, like a nurse?"

 

[rph3664]

I agree. I was under the impression that if you steal narcs you're done... surprised that he not only had a license but actually managed to find a job with that record. That being said I doubt he was HIV positive/spread anything... based on the wording of the article it seemed like dramatic effect.

Someone on another board said, "How do people like this keep getting hired, and I can't even get an interview?"

 

[croquemonsieur]

Someone on another board said, "How do people like this keep getting hired, and I can't even get an interview?"

That was my first thought

 

[gwarm01]

Someone on another board said, "How do people like this keep getting hired, and I can't even get an interview?"

Must have one hell of a resume.

 

[sosoo]

why is this article just posted in 2016? the discovery was 2014?