Just How Safe Is Your Medical Clinic?

There is nothing that makes us feel more vulnerable than going for medical tests or procedures. What may be "routine" to doctors and nurses is stressful to patients waiting to find out what the results of those tests and procedures will be. Still, we trust the healthcare professionals who administer them and put ourselves into their hands, often without question, because we "know" they will take care of us.

Unfortunately, that isn't always the case.

Proof of this fact is the recent Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada scandal People who live in Las Vegas, in general, are not easily shocked by anything, but even the most hard-edged among them were stunned to learn the degree of callous irresponsibility on the part of this medical clinic.

Thousands of patients who went in to this place between March 2004 and January 11, 2008 were potentially exposed to hepatitis C and HIV, because syringes were repeatedly re-used. Additionally, vials were also re-used when administering anesthesia.to several individuals. This is what led to possible contamination. Nurses questioned reportedly admitted that they knew doing this was wrong, but that they were "ordered" by doctors whose aim was to save money by "recycling" these supplies.

One can only imagine the alarm caused when the Southern Nevada Health District contacted patients of this clinic to inform them that they needed to be tested, due to this breach of trust. Thus far, six cases of hepatitis C have been traced to the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

Not only does this effect the individual patients, but there may be an even more dire situation, since potentially exposed patients may have unknowingly exposed family members or partners. Six other clinic offices owned by the same medical group have been closed as well, meaning that there may be even more patients who were put in danger.

How do things like this happen?

Have certain members of the healthcare industry become so focused on profit that they are willing to risk the well-being of their patients to cut costs? It isn't enough that most Americans can't afford health insurance, but we are now expected to pay out-of-pocket for lax, inept care of this sort!

What exactly can you do to safeguard yourself against similar indignities occurring?

Ask questions, lots of them, whenever you go in to a doctor's office, medical center or hospital to get diagnosed, tested or treated. Ask for an explanation of what everything is, what it is for and why it is being used and insist upon syringes, vials and needles that have never been used. Even ask for proof of this before you agree to have a procedure done.

There are many fine, reputable doctors, nurses and medical clinics in this country, but until you can identify which ones they are, you need to do all you can to ensure you are safe. If that involves ticking off some of them by aggressively questioning them, then so be it..

Letting down your guard could be deadly.