NJ Department of Health Issues Public Health Recommendations to Patients of Physician with Revoked License

TRENTON — The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is encouraging patients of Central Jersey physician, Dr. Sanjiv Patankar, to consult with their primary health care provider if they have undergone procedures at his office because of potential infection control breaches. The State Board of Medical Examiners (BME) has revoked Dr. Patankar’s medical license, after finding that he reused single-use rectal manometry catheters on multiple patients.
“While the Department believes that the risk of disease transmission from the rectal manometry procedure is low, we recommend patients who have had any procedures performed by Dr. Patankar discuss their risk and whether they should get tested for bloodborne pathogens with their health care provider,” said Acting Health Commissioner Christopher R. Rinn.
At this time, NJDOH has not received any reports of disease associated with this doctor’s practices. Based on information uncovered in the BME’s investigation, the NJDOH cannot be certain that there were no additional infection control breaches at Dr. Patankar’s practices.
Re-using single-use devices is an infection control breach and increases the risk of disease transmission. There is a concern about the possibility of disease transmission, specifically of bloodborne pathogens, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Blood may be microscopic and not visible to the eye. Bloodborne pathogens can cause disease with few or no symptoms, so blood tests are the only way to know if bloodborne pathogens are present.
Dr. Patankar practiced at the Colon & Rectal Surgeons of Central New Jersey with offices in East Brunswick (620 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, NJ) and Princeton (124 Stanhope Street, Princeton, NJ). The East Brunswick office is the only location where patients underwent the rectal manometry procedure.
If you have additional questions, please contact your health care provider or call the New Jersey Health Hotline at 1-866-448-2432 (in New Jersey) or 1-800-962-1253 (outside of New Jersey).
Inquiries about how to obtain patient records should be directed to the BME at 609-826-7100.
The BME’s Order revoking Dr. Pantakar’s medical license on Jan. 10, 2018 can be found here: http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Actions/20180110_25MA07397500.pdf
The BME’s press announcing the temporary suspension of Dr. Patankar’s license on Dec. 28, 2017 can be found here: www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/News/Pages/12282017.aspx
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