Bill Would Require Doctors to Tell Patients When Put on Probation

The Patient’s Right to Know Act would make California the first state to require that doctors placed on probation due to sexual and other forms of professional misconduct notify their patients.

Several survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of doctors testified before the California State Assembly’s appropriations committee on Wednesday to push for a bill that would require physicians to notify their patients if they are disciplined as a result of misconduct.

This is the third time in three years that State Senator Jerry Hill, a Democrat from San Mateo, has attempted to put the bill before the state legislature for a vote — but this time he is doing so in the #MeToo era with a spotlight on cases like former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar and University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall.

The “Patient’s Right to Know Act” would make California the first state to require that doctors placed on probation due to sexual and other forms of misconduct — including drug or alcohol abuse, a criminal conviction involving harm to a patient, or inappropriate prescriptions — notify their patients. (read more)