Closing deadly loopholes
Our view: Three cases of poorly regulated medical facilities and personnel in the past year would be addressed by proposed legislation
In July, authorities discovered that a radiology technician who had worked in Maryland and several other states had been injecting himself with narcotics-filled syringes, refilling them with saline and leaving them behind for use on patients. More than 1,700 Marylanders were exposed to hepatitis C as a result, and five contracted the disease. Dozens more were affected in other states.
In September, the Maryland health department shut down a Timonium cosmetic surgery center after three patients contracted a dangerous bacterial infection after liposuction. All three were hospitalized, and one, a 59-year-old Lochearn woman, died.
And last fall, hundreds of patients in 20 states became infected with fungal meningitis after taking an injectable steroid medication that had been produced by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. Nearly 50 people died as a result, including three in Maryland.
No comments:
Post a Comment