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Apr. 09, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS: Seized records hard to sift through

Patients, attorneys, investigators face unexpected hurdles

By ALAN CHOATE and ANNETTE WELLS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
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The thousands of medical records from the Gastroenterology Center of Nevada being held as evidence are proving hard to sift through, presenting a significant hurdle for patients, attorneys and investigators seeking access to them as the fallout continued from the largest health notification in U.S. history.

"Close your eyes and imagine looking for a record in 2,200 boxes of records," said Michael Walsh, director of administration for the Southern Nevada Health District, which is looking at spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to organize the records.

Police spokesman Jose Montoya was more succinct: "It's a big mess."

Local, state and federal authorities seized the records in March from six locations of the Gastroenterology Center of Nevada, including the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada on Shadow Lane, where the health crisis first surfaced.

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    • The records are now in the custody of the Metropolitan Police Department. The point was to secure them against tampering or destruction as the case against the clinics unfolds, but those seeking access to the records have faced unexpected hurdles.

    "Since we recovered them from different locations, some of them are catalogued by date, some by doctor's name, some by location," Montoya said. Finding and making copies of records for people -- there have been about 200 requests so far -- is "a tedious process for us."

    It's also a tedious process for the Nevada State Board of Nursing and the health district, which want to review records but can't because they are in the hands of Las Vegas police.

    It's a significant obstacle, considering a health notification went out to 40,000 former patients of the Shadow Lane office after investigators linked six cases of acute hepatitis C to patients visiting that facility. Officials reported that unsafe injection protocols at the clinic put patients at risk for blood-borne diseases.

    There's another case that could be connected to the Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center, an affiliated clinic on Burnham Avenue, but even if health officials wanted to do a notification, they'd have to be able to find the patients in the seized records.

    The records also figure in the investigation of six nurse anesthetists who relinquished their licenses in the days following the initial disclosures.

    Debra Scott, executive director of the Nevada State Board of Nursing, said the regulatory board has interviewed some of the nurse anesthetists, but the board doesn't have any "hard evidence" and is still waiting to review the records held by police. Scott said the board is also waiting for information regarding which nurse anesthetist reported being told to reuse syringes and other medical equipment.

    "None of the nurses has requested a hearing nor their licenses back," Scott said Tuesday. "But we are still getting information and conducting interviews.''

    Some former patients have reported not being able to find their records because, for example, they're filed by date instead of patient name, and the patients don't remember the date of their procedure.

    In many cases -- but not all -- patients were referred to the clinics by their primary care physician, who would also have patients' records on hand, Walsh noted.

    Now the health district is rushing to get a contract before the Southern Nevada District Board of Health at its April 24 meeting so an outside company can begin organizing the records using a uniform system.

    "The records all have to be organized, and the successful vendor will be able to fill the requests of people looking for their records," Walsh said.

    An initial assessment put the price tag at $491,000 to index and alphabetize the records, although Walsh said the health district would try to negotiate a lower price.

    Some of that cost could be covered by a $500,000 fine collected from the clinics' owners Monday by the city of Las Vegas, which held a hearing to revoke the business license of the Shadow Lane office.

    The city is also looking at paying for blood tests recommended for the 40,000 former patients included in the health notification.

    "Our goal is to ensure that the money is spent to support the victims of the crisis," said Las Vegas City Manager Doug Selby, who's supposed to recommend a spending plan to the council May 6. "To do this, we need to carefully weigh our options for getting the most benefit to those impacted."

    Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435, or Annette Wells at awells@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.



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    Robert Bondonno wrote on April 09, 2008 12:17 PM: In my opinion, the police acted in the public’s best interests in seizing the medical records, and despite the problems with access to the records…they should be grateful we have records. The shady owners of the clinic could very well have had a mysterious fire and then there would be no records. If that would have happened, the public would have been claiming the police and other officials did not act to protect the public interests. So, despite the access problems, which I am sure will be smoothed out soon, in my opinion, the District Attorney, the police and other agency officials acted in a very prudent manner to protect the medical records and acted in the public’s best interest. Therefore, they should be given some praise instead of being criticized.


    Robert Bondonno wrote on April 09, 2008 12:07 PM: I know that it’s been difficult for the patients to obtain their medical records, however, the police did the right thing to seize the records, because the clinic owners could very well have had a mysterious fire. Then there would be no records. So, in my opinion, the police acted to protect the public, so the patient would have records. Had the police not acted and then had there been a mysterious fire, the public would have been claiming that the police didn't act in the public's best interest. At the present time, despite the problems of access to patient records...we should be grateful we have the records. In my opinion, the District Attorney and police officials and whoever else played a part in securing the records should be praised, and not criticized.


    kevin wrote on April 09, 2008 11:06 AM: what a filthy city... glad I left when I did...


    kevin wrote on April 09, 2008 11:04 AM: glad I left that filthy city when I did...what a sorry excuse for humanity


    kevin wrote on April 09, 2008 10:54 AM: I left your city a couple of weeks ago after living there four months. The best decision I have ever made. The city is probably the most ugly city I have ever spent time in. One strip mall after another. No city parks save sunset park and that is just a flat piece of brown scrub land. Was there any planning when you built your city? The city itself is filthy and the traffic is out of control. What a nightmarish place to live. Your crime is totally out of control execpt on the strip where the casino owners control Las vegas Blvd. Either side of the strip is a mess. Miles and miles of commercial crap in both directions. How anyone could stand that teaming mass of humanity is behond me.To say that Vegas sucks is an understatement. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas is appropriate, its good you dont let anyone know what its really like there.I moved there for a job with benefits because at my age I need a complete physical. If they wouldnt have discovered the health crisis at the clinics I would have been one of those 40000 who could possibly be sick. Thankfully I left before they got their hands on me and my records.


    Tony wrote on April 09, 2008 10:45 AM: "Debra Scott, executive director of the Nevada State Board of Nursing, said the regulatory board has interviewed some of the nurse anesthetists, but the board doesn't have any "hard evidence" and is still waiting to review the records held by police. Scott said the board is also waiting for information regarding which nurse anesthetist reported being told to reuse syringes and other medical equipment."

    The whole investigation is proceeding at a snail's pace! I'll bet the Doctors have already protected their assets and retained the best criminal defense lawyers should charges be made.


    dwc wrote on April 09, 2008 09:52 AM: Steve- These hypereducated, greedy, egoists allowed these records to be in the state they're in. Decades into the "information age" and these guys can't organize their patients' records?


    Steve wrote on April 09, 2008 09:34 AM: "Close your eyes and imagine looking for a record in 2,200 boxes of records," said Michael Walsh, director of administration for the Southern Nevada Health District"

    Hey, Michael...ever hear of something called THE ALPHABET??? It's easy to see how your inept department didn't keep an eye on these criminals when you can't even master something as simple as A to Z.