ATLANTA (AP) - A newspaper investigation shows sexual abuse by doctors against patients is surprisingly widespread, yet the fragmented medical oversight system shrouds offenders' actions in secrecy and allows many to continue to treat patients.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained and analyzed more than 100,000 disciplinary orders against doctors since 1999. Among those, the newspaper identified more than 3,100 doctors sanctioned after being accused of sexual misconduct; more than 2,400 of the doctors had violations involving patients. Of those, half still have active medical licenses today.
These cases represent only a fraction of the incidents in which doctors have been accused of sexually abusing patients. Many remain obscured because sexual misconduct cases are handled in secret, and because some public orders are so vaguely worded that patients would not know that a sexual offense occurred.
