Regional News/West: Reno gunman claimed he was victim of botched surgery, and other news

A shooting rampage that killed a Reno, Nev., doctor and critically injured another was committed by a man who claimed to suffer from a botched surgical procedure.

Police identified the gunman, who ended the attack by turning a pistol-grip shotgun on himself, as 51-year-old Alan Oliver Frazier. Police discovered a suicide note at his home in Plumas County, Calif., about 130 miles northwest of Reno.

On Dec. 17, he entered a medical office building on the campus of Renown Regional Medical Center and went to the third-floor offices of Urology Nevada and into the exam area, where he shot Dr. Charles Garo Gholdoian, 46, who died, as well as Dr. Christine Lajeunesse and a visitor, both of whom survived.

According to witnesses, Frazier was targeting physicians, police said. The detectives' account did not, however, indicate whether the procedure Frazier complained about was performed at Urology Nevada or by either of the physicians he shot.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has long identified violence as an occupational hazard for doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers; experts attribute the phenomenon to the disruptive and emotional circumstances that often bring people to those workplaces.

“At this time, we have no information why this tragedy took place,” Urology Nevada said in a statement posted to its website. “We are cooperating with the authorities in every way to learn more. In the meantime, we are focusing on our staff and the patients who are under our care.”

Follow Gregg Blesch on Twitter: @MHgblesch

Kaiser Permanente Northern California has signed on to Epic Systems Corp.'s Care Everywhere after frustrating some of its peers by holding out on the network, which allows providers with Epic's electronic health-record systems to share patient health information across geographic and organizational boundaries.

Through Care Everywhere, participants get real-time and secure access to medical histories, previous diagnoses, lab tests, medications, allergies, physician notes and other health data that can be transferred online through an encrypted connection.

Kaiser spokesman Jason Allen declined to discuss why the system's Northern California providers didn't join earlier, and he declined to provide any details of the agreement with Epic, saying more information would be released early next year.

Follow Rachel Landen on Twitter: @MHrlanden