Five Romanian doctors are under investigation for reusing medical implants removed from deceased patients.
Prosecutors in Romania issued a press release detailing the alleged offenses, announcing that an Iasi hospital physician had been arrested.
In anticipation of a full investigation, the authorities arrested him on suspicion of receiving bribes and misusing his position of authority.
The doctor, according to the investigators, was the ringleader and supervised a team of four other surgeons who illegally removed implants from dead patients without their families’ consent.
Since 2017, police believe the doctor performed around 238 procedures using illegally obtained implants from dead people or unknown locations, putting his patients, who trusted him, in danger of infection, illness, and even death.
Prosecutors said in a statement that the majority of the doctor’s implant recommendations were unnecessary, adding that the doctor provided his patients with false diagnoses and that some of the recommendations were prompted by medications he prescribed earlier, which triggered specific symptoms that made the recommendations appear necessary.
For many years, the Romanian healthcare system has been plagued by corruption, healthcare politics, and inefficiency. Due to the inadequacy of the healthcare system and the poor compensation, tens of thousands of qualified Romanian physicians and nurses leave the country to work elsewhere.
Romania spends the least amount on healthcare among all European Union members and has built only one hospital in the past three decades.
In recent years, a number of Romanian drug producers have been compelled to remove their products from pharmacy shelves, reduce their operations, or lay off employees.