The hack at Providence and Legacy medical facilities in and around Portland is being looked into, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
According to the report, the inquiry focused on an anesthesiologist who used “unacceptable infection control practices, which put patients at risk of infections” while administering intravenous anesthesia.
It stated that one physician who worked for the Oregon Anaesthesiology Group was connected to the exposure.
The group has fired the anesthesiologist, who has not been identified.
The physician was employed from 2017 to 2023 at two locations in Providence and from December of last year for a period of six months at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Centre in Gresham.
The anesthesiologist’s actions may have put about 2,200 patients at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Centre in Oregon City and two patients at Providence Portland Medical Centre at low risk of exposure to potential infections, according to a statement released by Providence on Thursday.
To check for the diseases, officials are urging individuals to seek a free blood test.
Providence will “reach out to discuss their test results and next steps” if a patient has a positive test.