COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Latest on allegations that near-death patients in Ohio were given excessive pain medication (all times local):
1:45 p.m.
An Ohio doctor under investigation amid allegations that he ordered “excessive and potentially fatal” doses of pain medicine for at least 27 near-death patients in Columbus had previously worked at the Cleveland Clinic.
A statement from the Cleveland Clinic says the doctor was a supervised resident there from 2008 to 2013.
The Cleveland Clinic says it’s conducting an investigation of his work. The statement also says it has multiple safeguards in place to protect patients from medication errors.
The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System says it has fired the doctor identified as William Husel.
The announcement came after a family sued the doctor and the health system. Case records don’t list an attorney to comment on Husel’s behalf. There is no public personal phone listing for him.
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1 p.m.
A criminal prosecutor says an investigation is under way after a hospital system found an Ohio doctor ordered “significantly excessive and potentially fatal” doses of pain medicine for at least 27 near-death patients in the past few years.
The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System acknowledged the doses were larger than needed to provide comfort for dying patients. The hospital system publicly apologized and said it fired the doctor and reported the findings of its internal investigation to authorities.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien says his office has met with doctors, hospital executives and attorneys for Mount Carmel. He says Mount Carmel and its parent organization, Trinity Health, have cooperated.
Mount Carmel operates four hospitals around Columbus. Trinity Health is one of the country’s largest Roman Catholic health care systems.
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12:40 p.m.
Records show the State Medical Board has never taken disciplinary action against an Ohio doctor accused of ordering “significantly excessive and potentially fatal” doses of pain medicine for at least 27 near-death patients in the past few years.
The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System acknowledged the doses were larger than needed to provide comfort for dying patients. The system says it reported its findings to authorities and fired the doctor.
A related wrongful death lawsuit identifies him as William Husel.
Case records listed no attorney for Husel. Phone numbers linked to him weren’t accepting calls Tuesday.
It’s unclear whether the medical board ever received a complaint or conducted an investigation about him. Those records are confidential under Ohio law. Outcomes are made public only when the board takes formal action.
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10:30 a.m.
An Ohio hospital system says an intensive care doctor ordered “significantly excessive and potentially fatal” doses of pain medicine for at least 27 near-death patients in the past few years after families asked to stop lifesaving measures.
The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System says it fired the doctor, notified authorities and removed 20 employees from patient care pending further investigation. Those include pharmacists and nurses who administered medication.
The announcement came after a family sued, alleging medicine was used to hasten a patient’s death. The lawsuit was filed Monday against the health system, a pharmacist, a nurse and the doctor, which it identifies as William Husel.
Case records list no attorney to comment on Husel’s behalf. There is no public personal phone listing for him.
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