News - Local
Surgery center withholds patient name in hepatitis probe
Posted: Sep 24, 2009 8:38 AM by Associated Press
A Colorado Springs surgery center is fighting a subpoena from federal prosecutors seeking the name of a patient who may have contracted hepatitis C from a fired surgery technician.
Prosecutors want the name as part of their case against 26-year-old Kristen Diane Parker, charged with stealing syringes filled with painkillers and replacing them with dirty ones.
Audubon Ambulatory Surgical Center officials say federal law bars them from releasing the patient's name because the patient hasn't given them permission.
Prosecutors say Parker may have exposed thousands of patients to hepatitis C at hospitals in Colorado Springs and Denver.
Investigations have also been launched at hospitals in New York and Houston where Parker also worked.
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