An order from Santa Barbara County's health officer that closed the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based office of Allen Thomashefsky, MD, in April has been revoked.
Dr. Thomashefsky, whose office was shut down due to patients being potentially exposed to hepatitis C and other bloodborne illnesses, will be allowed to practice medicine in the county once again. In early June, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department confirmed that five patients who had injection procedures there were identified as having new hepatitis C diagnoses.
In the interim the office was closed for serious infection control lapses, although Dr. Thomashefsky was allowed to continue to practice out of his Ashland, Ore.-based clinic under the restriction that the only injections that could be performed there were CDC-recommended immunizations.
At this time, Dr. Thomashefsky has corrected the necessary measures and has made reassuring progress toward the proper infection control protocols and procedures, a Santa Barbara County Public Health Department representative said in a statement.