N.J. hospital patients may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV due to a rogue pharmacist.
For all this nation spends on health care, it ought to be better able to prevent the scare that just frightened more than 200 patients of Shore Medical Center in Somers Point.
Imagine opening a surprise letter that says you must be tested for the HIV virus and hepatitis, because an in-hospital pharmacist allegedly went rogue, stole morphine doses intended for patients, and replaced the painkiller with saline solution.
The hospital said it had suspended Frederick P. McLeish of Egg Harbor Township -- now facing criminal charges -- in September 2014 after discovering "inconsistencies" in his work.
To the affected 213 patients, an inconsistency just as large is why they were not notified about this until about a week ago. It's unknown if McLeish's activities contaminated any containers used to administer patient medication. But it's been more than a year since McLeish was fired and surrendered his pharmacy license. Considering the ways that hepatitis and HIV can be spread by people with no reason to think they've been infected, the delay itself is a significant breach of public health policy.
In a particularly bold statement, the hospital indicated "... the authorities have commended us on our self-initiated internal investigation and swift action in this matter." Which authorities, exactly? If they work for the state Department of Health or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they probably should be terminated -- just like McLeish.
It's also scary that two other New Jersey cases involving risks from intravenous health procedures occurred within the past year. Last summer, it was revealed that at least five youngsters who were supposed to get childhood immunizations at a Salem County-run clinic received cervical cancer vaccine for older patients instead. In October, state health officials confirmed that a nurse had used the same syringe to give flu shots to 67 workers at an employer-sponsored clinic in Mercer County.
On Friday, an NJ Advance Media story disclosed that ex-pharmacist McLeish had license trouble twice before in New Jersey. The second time, in 2002, he had to surrender his license for stealing opioid pain medication for personal use from his then-employer, CVS. Sound familiar?
McLeish's license was reinstated in 2004, but one wonders whether Shore Medical knew of his past substance abuse (or his multiple disciplinary actions in Pennsylvania) before the Somers Point hospital let him access the hard stuff. As with teachers who sexually abuse children, surrender their state license in a settlement -- and then prey on students in another state -- we need a national database to check on medical professionals who have been disciplined.
Such a system is only as good as health providers' commitment to use it. There should be penalties for those that won't.
And, we still need know to what caused that time lag on the part of Shore Medical.
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