A doctor whose license was suspended after the Texas Medical Board said he was the subject of a criminal investigation into tainted IV bags linked to one death has been arrested, Dallas police said Wednesday.
Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz was arrested in Plano, Dallas Police Department spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said. She referred further questions to federal prosecutors who declined comment.
It's not immediately clear what Ortiz has been charged with and it's also not clear if he's obtained an attorney.
The Texas Medical Board announced Friday it had suspended Ortiz’s license because he posed a “continuing threat to public welfare.” The board said it had received information from federal law enforcement that he was involved in an ongoing investigation into “serious cardiac complications and one patient’s death” at Baylor Surgicare North Dallas on Coit Road.
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According to the board’s order, Ortiz was seen on surveillance video at Surgicare depositing IV bags in a warmer outside the operating rooms.
“When he deposited an IV bag in the warmer, shortly thereafter a patient would suffer a serious complication,” the order said.
Tests on IV bags at the surgery center found “tiny holes” in the plastic wrap around the bags and that they contained bupivacaine, a drug used to treat localized pain.
“Such drugs could and would be fatal when administered unknowingly and intravenously,” the medical board said in its order.
On June 21, another doctor at the facility took a “tampered” IV bag home with her when she became ill and “almost immediately had a serious cardiac event and died,” the order said.
NBC 5 reported last week that an autopsy of the doctor, Melanie Kaspar, concluded her death was caused by accidental bupivacaine toxicity, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office.
Surgicare's website said it is owned by doctors and other investors but Baylor Scott & White has not responded to detailed questions about its ownership or the issue with Ortiz.
A spokesperson for Baylor Scott & White released the following statement Wednesday after learning of Ortiz's arrest.
"On Aug. 24, immediately upon determining an IV bag had potentially been compromised, Surgicare North Dallas paused all operations and notified the appropriate local and federal authorities. There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of those we serve. We actively assisted authorities in their investigation and will continue to do so; we also remain focused on communicating with patients."
