While the vast majority of doctors are appropriate in the way they conduct themselves with patients behind closed doors, a national investigation by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, published in July, found widespread sexual abuse by doctors — from OB-GYNs committing rape to anesthesiologists taking advantage of patients while they were under to pediatricians molesting children.
The investigation found many offending doctors were allowed to keep seeing patients: Half of the more than 2,400 doctors sanctioned since 1999 for sexual misconduct involving patients still have active medical licenses. The unnerving findings expose how brazenly some physicians exploit the trust established in the patient-provider relationship, while also raising questions about what patients can do to protect themselves.
It’s a “painfully familiar” scenario, says David Clohessy, executive director of Chicago-based SNAP — or the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — an organization that also advocates and provides support for people who are sexually abused by doctors and others victimized in an institutional setting. “It’s largely the very same dynamics we see in other institutions — the kind of predictable but tragic deference given to those with prestigious titles, the impulse to disbelieve victims and minimize their suffering,” Clohessy says.
[See: How to Find the Best Mental Health Professional for You.]
Given the secrecy that frequently surrounds sexual improprieties committed in health care settings, it’s hard to gauge the scope of the issue. “We are looking [into] how we can track this,” says Brian Pinero, vice president of victim services at RAINN (or the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). While RAINN doesn’t currently have figures to assess trends, Pinero says he hears from staff about calls they’re receiving from victims abused in medical settings, and he says the issue is on the organization’s radar.
Pinero urges anyone who suspects sexual abuse to talk about what happened. While in certain instances — like when a patient is sexually abused under anesthesia — misconduct may go unnoticed, he says patients should take notice if doctors push boundaries. Whether it’s an untoward touch or the conversation gets personal in a way that has nothing to do with a patient’s medical concern, or a physician insists on performing a hands-on exam or having a patient disrobe, but can’t or won’t explain the reasons, experts say, patients should trust their instincts if they feel a physician is making inappropriate advances. Pinero says if a patient feels boundaries have been violated, he or she should say so and can end the exam. “It doesn’t matter whether or not it is perceived or someone thinks that you’re overreacting,” he says, adding that doctors should be accommodating and responsive to patient concerns, not dismissive.
For patients who feel they have been sexually abused, RAINN has a National Sexual Assault Hotline that individuals can call to discuss abuse and find help in their local area. “We gently, but relentlessly, prod victims toward therapy — [including] support groups — disclosing their suffering to loved ones … and exploring all legal options — criminal and civil,” Clohessy adds.
Though the justice system has its own flaws, Clohessy says, the privacy of sexual abuse victims can be protected through the legal process. “Fortunately, in criminal cases, authorities have long protected the privacy of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers through the widespread and consistent use of pseudonyms and other means,” he says. While in exceptional civil cases, some perpetrators manage to deny victims the ability to remain confidential, in most cases, he says, it is possible to safeguard confidentiality. He advises getting an attorney who is experienced in handling sexual assault cases.
But while critics assert that doctor-dominated medical boards are incentivized to protect their own, leaving patients in harm’s way, Dr. Humayun Chaudhry, president and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards, says the primary mission of these state boards is to protect the public. “Nearly all state medical boards are made up of physicians, attorneys, staff [and] public members as well,” he says.
[See: 10 Lessons From Empowered Patients.]
Chaudhry contends that the reality regarding why it can be difficult to revoke the licenses of physicians in some cases of sexual abuse is complicated. For one, states don’t have the funds to proactively go after doctors, but must rely on receiving complaints. In addition to patients filing complaints to individual state medical boards — such as online through board websites or by mail — medical employers, including hospitals and health systems, are supposed to report sexual misconduct to state boards, but often concerns are kept quiet and doctors are dealt with behind closed doors, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found.
That’s all the more reason patients shouldn’t shrug off any concerns they have. Though it may not provide a complete picture, experts say, it’s important for patients to access available disciplinary information on their doctors. The federation put together a website called docinfo.org, where patients can search for a doctor by name and see past disciplinary actions taken against the physician as well as information on licensure and where the doctor went to school.
While Chaudhry notes it’s up to patients whether they notify law enforcement, a state medical board or a hospital or practice setting where abuse occurred, or all of the above, Pinero asserts only law enforcement are equipped to handle cases of suspected sexual abuse. “It’s not for the medical board to determine what level is the sexual assault, or what level was the inappropriateness,” he says; and he adds patients still have the option to file a complaint with a medical board in addition to calling police. “The best first step is calling law enforcement,” Clohessy emphasizes. “No institution can police itself. The odds of being revictimized go way up in these quiet internal processes, compared with the criminal and civil processes.” He adds that any information a patient shares about being sexually abused or harassed could help authorities establish a pattern of misconduct.
But, experts note, many victims of sexual abuse keep quiet for reasons ranging from shame to fear of retribution. And when physicians sexually abuse patients it can affect not only their mental health, but their overall well-being. “When the predator is a doctor or therapist … often the victims feel even more helpless,” Clohessy says. He adds that the broken trust can inhibit their seeking medical or mental health care in the future, including from practitioners who are blameless. “If it’s a therapist who causes my victimization, obviously I’m going to be far, far less willing to go to another therapist to say, ‘How do I cope with this?’ That’s the insidiousness of this kind of violence,” he says.
[See: When to Fire Your Doctor.]
But however great the obstacles, Clohessy encourages patients who have been abused to take the first difficult steps to get help and seek justice. “We try to tell victims: Sexual violence is much more like cancer than the common cold. If you have a cold and do nothing, you’ll recover fine — maybe more slowly, but you’ll be fine. You have cancer and you do nothing — that’s obviously, ultimately self-destructive.”
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How to Respond If You’re Sexually Abused — or Harassed — By Your Doctor originally appeared on usnews.com
