SACRAMENTO, Calif.,
Sept. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/
-- Doctors in California will
have to be honest with their patients if they are on probation for
sexual assault or other egregious patient harm under legislation,
SB 1448 by Senator Jerry Hill, that
was signed by the Governor today.
The first-in-the-nation law requires doctors to disclose before
a patient's appointment if they are on probation ordered by the
Medical Board of California for
causing patient harm in four categories: sexual misconduct with a
patient, drug or alcohol use, overprescribing prescription drugs or
criminal convictions.
"This law is a tremendous first step toward the transparency
that patients desperately need to make safe decisions about their
health care. Doctors who harm patients have for too long been
allowed to continue practicing with their disciplinary history
hidden in the shadows. This law will finally require the minority
of doctors who commit egregious misconduct to be honest with their
patients," said Carmen Balber,
executive director of Consumer Watchdog.
According to the California Research Bureau, doctors who have
been disciplined in the past have a 30% chance of reoffending.
Senator Hill has carried legislation for the last three years to
require disclosure of doctors' probationary status, but prior bills
stalled in the face of misinformation and scare tactics from the
doctors' lobby. The legislature finally rejected their claims in
the wake of the Me Too movement and after former USC students, Olympic and Michigan State University athletes, and women from
across California who were
sexually assaulted by their doctors traveled to Sacramento to urge lawmakers to end the
secrecy around doctor probation.
"If we learned anything from the Me Too movement it's that
hiding misconduct perpetuates harm. Now, patients will be informed
before they choose a doctor disciplined for overprescribing opioids
to treat their substance abuse issues, or send their daughter to a
doctor on probation for sex offenses. We have a right to know,"
said Balber.
Consumer Watchdog said the new law will not inform patients when
their doctor is disciplined for negligence that kills a patient, a
reform the legislature must revisit next year.
The bill takes effect on July 1,
2019. In addition to doctors, the new law also applies to
health care providers licensed by the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California, California Board of Podiatric Medicine, the
Naturopathic Medicine Committee, the State Board of Chiropractic
Examiners, and the Acupuncture Board.
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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog