Amd §230, add §2803-bb, Pub Health L; amd §§6530 & 6524, add §6523-a, Ed L
Strengthens protections for patients regarding sexual misconduct by medical providers; requires medical expert consultants involved in investigations disclose conflicts of interest and to not be under investigation, on warning, or on probation; requires a zero-tolerance policy to be adopted and training to be provided on sexual misconduct by the board for professional misconduct; includes provisions related to the right to have a chaperone; includes sexual misconduct in the definition of professional misconduct.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8081 Revised 5/1/2025
SPONSOR: Gonzalez-Rojas 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 subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of
section 230 of the Public Health Law (PHL), as it relates to the consul-
tation of medical experts during an investigation that is referred to an
investigation committee due to issues of clinical practice, to require
medical experts used during Office of Professional Medical Conduct
(OPMC) investigations to 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 administrative
warning.
Section 2 amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of section 230 of PHL,
as it relates to the investigation procedures, to require that at the
conclusion of an investigation by an OPMC investigator, an objective
summary statement and recommendation produced by the investigator would
be submitted along with the results of such investigation.
Section 3 amends section 230 of PHL by adding a new subdivision 6-a, as
it relates to the adoption and publishing of a "Zero Tolerance Policy"
for sexual misconduct by the Board of Professional Medical Conduct and
OPMC. This would 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-service 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 PHL by adding a new section 2803-bb, as it relates to
adding rights and responsibilities regarding protection from sexual
misconduct, to 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. This legislation also requires that
every patient would receive a copy of the written statement of their
rights during certain sensitive examinations and requires each facility
to note in the patient's chart whether or not the patient wanted the
presence of another person during an examination.
Section 5 amends section 6530 of the Education Law by adding two new
subdivisions 51 and 52, as they relate to the definitions of profes-
sional 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 the 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
checks to require the Commissioner of Health (COH) to submit finger-
prints to the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and would
direct DCJS to forward any criminal history record to the COH in a time-
ly manner.
Section 8 amends section 6530 of the Education Law to add two new subdi-
visions 20 and 31 as they relate to clarifying conduct which evidences
moral unfitness to practice medicine and include a patient's caregiver
or surrogate in the definition of wilfully harassing, abusing, or intim-
idating 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 accountability throughout the entire process and the addition of
sexual impropriety to the list of professional misconduct is long over-
due.
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 Work-
place 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 physi-
cians 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 investi-
gative process into an allegation against a physician, how findings are
presented, and even the training of OPMC staff and the Board of Profes-
sional Medical Conduct.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: S6991-A/ A8068 Gonzalez-Rojas
2023-2024: S7023-A/ A8196-A Gonzalez-Rojas
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
90th day after the bill becomes law.
