Denver Police say they are investigating Dr. Stephen Stein for prescription fraud. The criminal investigation is ongoing and has been underway since early April.
Police say it is an ongoing investigation. They are not looking into his repeated use of needles that put thousands of patients at risk of dangerous diseases.
Anyone who was a patient of Stein, a dentist who practiced oral surgery in Denver and Highlands Ranch, is advised to get tested for HIV and hepatitis.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment made the recommendation today.
Officials say patients may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C if they received intravenous (IV) medications while under Stein’s care from September 1999 through June 2011.
Patients may be at risk if they were seen by Stein during these time frames and at these locations:
September 1999 to June 2011 at Stein Oral and Facial Surgery, 8671 S. Quebec St., #230, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130
August 2010 to June 2011 at Stein Oral and Facial Surgery, 3737 E.1st Ave., Suite B, Denver, CO 80206. Patients also were seen at this location by Stein under another name, New Image Dental Implant Center.
“It was determined syringes and needles used to inject medications through patients’ IV lines were saved and used again to inject medications through other patients’ IV lines,” the health department says. “This practice has been shown to transmit infections.”
The health department says it sent 8,000 letters Thursday to patients who could be at risk. Investigators also say there are more people who should get tested because records dating back so long are incomplete.
