BILL NUMBER: S7023A
SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to strengthening protections for patients regarding sexual misconduct by
medical providers
 
PURPOSE:
To strengthen protections for patients regarding sexual misconduct by
medical providers.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 10 of section 230 of public health law to
include that medical experts used during Office of Professional Medical
Conduct (OPMC) investigations shall disclose any conflicts of interest
prior to assisting in an investigation and a medical expert shall not be
allowed to consult if they're under investigation, or have an adminis-
trative warning.
Section 2 amends subdivision 10 of section 230 of public health law to
include that at the conclusion of an investigation by an OPMC investi-
gator, an objective summary statement and recommendation produced by the
investigator shall be submitted along with the results of such investi-
gation.
Section 3 amends section 230 of public health law to require the OPMC to
adopt a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct and for the board to
publish the policy on their site and conduct annual training or in-ser-
vice workshops on sexual misconduct and sexual harassment for the OPMC
staff, including investigators, the division of legal affairs, and the
OPMC board members.
Section 4 amends public health law by adding a new section 2803-bb to
add rights and responsibilities regarding protection from sexual miscon-
duct that will require facilities including clinics and hospitals to
post a statement of rights that outlines that every patient shall have
the right to request the presence of a family member or third-party
chaperone, that can be a healthcare professional or a trained unlicensed
staff member of preferably the gender the patient feels most comfortable
with, during a physical examination and shall receive a copy of the
written statement of their right during certain sensitive examinations
and requires each facility note in the patient's chart whether or not
the patient wanted the presence of another person during an examination.
Section 5 amends education law section 6530 to add two new subdivisions
51 and 52 in the definitions of professional misconduct for sexual
impropriety and physical sexual contact between a licensee and patient
or an examination of the breast(s) or genitals without appropriate
consent from the patient or surrogate.
Section 6 amends education law by adding a new section 6523-a as it
relates to additional duties of the state board of medicine to require
the board to query information from the United States Department of
Health and Human Services national practitioner data bank to see if
instances of professional misconduct appear upon initial request for
licensure by an applicant.
Section 7 amends section 6524 of education law by adding a new subdivi-
sion 6-a as it relates to fingerprints and criminal history record
check, to require the Commissioner of Health (COH) to submit finger-
prints to the division of criminal justices services (DCJS) and directs
DCJS to forward any criminal history record to the COH in a timely
manner.
Section 8 amends section 6530 of the education law to add two new subdi-
visions 20 and 31 to to clarify conduct which evidences moral unfitness
to practice medicine and include a patient's caregiver or surrogate in
the definition of wilfully harassing, abusing, or intimidating a patient
physically or verbally.
Section 9 provides an effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In 1996, the Board for Professional Medical Conduct created a Final
Report produced by a Subcommittee on Physician Sexual Misconduct. Years
later, in 2009, the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) staff
investigators referenced the final report and the lack of change in an
internal memo. The memo, titled "Perspectives on Investigations of Sexu-
al Abuse Allegations Inside NYS DOH MARO (Metropolitan Area Regional
Office) Office of Professional Medical Conduct," created and developed
by the OPMC staff investigators, shared accounts of victims and the lack
of disciplinary action or accountability to physicians violating a
patient's trust.
Patients place a great deal of trust in their doctors, and when doctors
abuse that trust, justice demands accountability. There must be account-
ability throughout the entire process and the addition of sexual impro-
priety to the list of professional misconduct is long overdue. Marissa
Hoechestetter, a survivor who was sexually assaulted by her doctor, is a
strong advocate and has testified before the Senate and Assembly in the
joint public hearing on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace on Friday,
May 24, 2019. In her testimony, she points out the fact that New York
state is one of only six states that does not conduct background checks
as a requirement upon initial licensure for medical professionals. The
National Practitioner Data Bank exists as a resource to the state board
of medicine and a simple query could prevent physicians from getting
away with lies and omissions when seeking to be licensed to practice in
New York State. This bill would address various issues that currently
exist regarding initial licensure, the allegation against a physician,
the investigation itself, and even the training of OPMC staff and the
board of professional medical conduct.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: S6991A/ A8196 Gonzalez-Rojas
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
90th Day after the bill becomes law.

Statutes affected:
S7023: 230 public health law, 230(10) public health law, 6530 education law
S7023A: 230 public health law, 230(10) public health law, 6530 education law, 6524 education law