Doctor Responsible for Hepatitis Scare in NY Still Practicing
In 2005 Raymond Bookstayer filed a complaint against Dr. Harvey Finkelstein with the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) after contracting Hepatitis C in his office. Almost three years later he still had yet to be told any results of his probe and investigators had yet to interview him. It turns out his complaint was closed last September and the OPMC neglected to inform him. Finkelstein is the Dix Hills doctor who the state Department of Health says put thousands of patients at risk to blood-borne pathogen infections such as hepatitis B and C and HIV/AIDS by reusing syringes. Recently, Finkelstein settled a medical malpractice lawsuit who claimed he contracted Hepatitis C as well. Finkelstein has so far settled an unprecedented 11 malpractice suits in eight years and is still practicing. Bookstaver received epidural spinal injections for back pain from Finkelstein in July 2004. His Hepatitis C diagnosis came in October 2004 and he made his complaint after receiving the May 2005 Health Department letter reporting that Finkelstein patients were at risk. New York is among only a few states that do not name physicians if they are not found guilty of misconduct. New York also does not hold public disciplinary hearings. “New York’s system is designed to protect the doctor,” said a former member of the State Legislature medical conduct task force. “It is overly bureaucratic and overly secretive, and everything takes too long.” Now the State Legislature is considering a bill proposed by Governor David A. Paterson to overhaul the state’s physician-discipline system. The bill was, in part, inspired by the New York’s delay in waiting three years before publicizing the Finkelstein’s case.
