Doctor sex abuse scandals are an issue across the country, according to a new report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
An investigation published Wednesday by the newspaper said that since Jan. 1, 1999, more than 2,400 doctors in the U.S. received sanctions for sexually abusing patients — based on an analysis of more than 100,000 disciplinary orders issued against doctors since 1999. More than 3,100 were reprimanded following sexual abuse allegations. For comparison’s sake, there are 900,000 doctors in the U.S., according to the report.
Half the sanctioned doctors still have active medical licenses, according to the findings. The report offered examples of abuse that ranged from a psychiatrist seducing an emotionally fragile patient to a family practitioner fondling a minor.
This is the first part of the investigation; the remainder will be published through the rest of 2016.
“It’s treated with a sort of secrecy that we don’t see in other arenas when we’re talking about allegations this serious,” AJC’s Carrie Teegardin, who worked on the investigation, told ABC News.
Much like the abuse committed by Catholic priests, abuse by doctors appears far-reaching and systemic.
“One thing we found that was shocking to us is some of these doctors are the most prolific sex offenders in the country, with hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of victims,” Teegardin told ABC News.
When pushed for comment from ABC News, the American Medical Association responded with its sexual misconduct ethical guidelines, but didn’t say anything specific about the AJC findings.
“Sexual contact that occurs concurrent with the patient-physician relationship constitutes sexual misconduct,” reads AMA’s Sexual Misconduct in the Practice of Medicine opinion.
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