Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Oklahoma Dentist Office

Cancel the appointment.

"Okla. officials defend dental office policy" by Justin Juozapavicius  |  Associated Press, March 30, 2013

TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma agency that accused a Tulsa oral surgeon of unsanitary practices, putting thousands of people at risk for hepatitis and HIV, says it has never needed to inspect medical offices regularly.

Related: Huffing and Puffing Over This Post About Hepatitis

Just don't call the Boston paramedics.

‘‘This doesn’t happen,’’ Susan Rogers, the executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, said Friday. ‘‘There’s not been a need for these inspections because we’ve never had a complaint like this.’’

Then what are you guys doing all day other than taking taxpayer dollars for nothing?

That is not unusual. Some other states do not routinely inspect clinics, either, noting they do not have the money and such incidents are so rare that the need just isn’t there.

S*** government really doesn't want to be bothered with you at all, does it? Otherwise, they would not have put out this lame-ass excuse.

In Oklahoma, the Board of Dentistry’s small staff does inspections only if the agency receives a complaint. That is what happened in the case of Dr. W. Scott Harrington, whose practice was inspected after officials determined a patient may have contracted hepatitis C while having dental surgery.

State epidemiologist Kristy Bradley and Tulsa Health Department director Bruce Dart sent letters Friday to all 7,000 patients they found in Harrington’s six-year-old records, urging them to be screened for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and the virus that causes AIDS because of unsafe practices at his two clinics.

RelatedHIV test urged for 7,000 Okla. dental patients

More patients may be at risk, but Harrington’s files go back only to 2007.

‘‘Although we do not know whether you were personally exposed to blood-borne viruses, there is a possibility that you may have been exposed to infectious material,’’ they wrote, acknowledging their discovery could be ‘‘alarming and frightening’’ for the patients.

Rogers’s office filed a 17-count complaint against Harrington, saying officials found rusty instruments, potentially contaminated drug vials, and improper use of a machine designed to sterilize tools....

RelatedA Compounding Crisis

Yeah, who has to worry about inspections when there are $o many other thing$ to worry about.

--more--"

"Dental patients line up for health tests

TULSA — About 150 to 200 patients of a Tulsa oral surgeon accused of unsanitary practices queued outside a health clinic Saturday, hoping to discover whether they were exposed to hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS. Letters began going out Friday to 7,000 patients who had seen Dr. W. Scott Harrington during the past six years warning them that poor hygiene at his clinics created a public health hazard (AP)."

My teeth are hurting just thinking about it.