Colon and rectal surgeon Sanjiv Patankar allegedly washed and reused catheters that are inserted into patients' rectum during medical procedures. The instruments, which are used to examine patients with fecal incontinence, constipation, and other possible disorders, are supposed to be thrown away after a single use.
Patankar, who practiced in East Brunswick, [New Jersey] allegedly instructed medical assistants to wash the instruments in soapy water after use, soak them in bleach solutions, and then rinse before air-drying them. The doctor also reportedly ordered to continue using a catheter that has started to break down due to overbleaching.
In a hearing conducted Dec. 19, the state said that documented evidence appears to show that between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, Patankar's office performed 82 procedures but only five catheters were used over that period.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Thursday March 01 2018, @08:15PM (3 children)
Well, they're more like $1.00 - $1.50 [bettymills.com] in lots of 50, manufacturer guaranteed sterile, bundled with a free sterile ruler and a pack of blank labels.
So maybe this is a bad example.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday March 01 2018, @09:10PM (2 children)
did you find an itemized line item for it on your surgery bill? They have started doing something sensible like charging $100 for miscellaneous stuff which catches things like the sharpie, but if it's itemized, I doubt it's less than $5.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Thursday March 01 2018, @09:27PM (1 child)
No, that's just what it would cost the hospital if they bought from the link above.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday March 01 2018, @09:33PM
That's the purchase price, then there's the general accounting overhead, cost of storage, cost to ensure safe delivery to the patient, cost of damaged goods, etc. etc. etc. - those are the wonderful accounting methods that come up with a price of $10 for a Tylenol capsule delivered to you postoperatively.
🌻🌻 [google.com]