Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Background Checks, Other Campus Reforms Included In Settlement Over USC Gynecologist
The Associated Press: Settlement Over USC Doctor Abuse Requires School Reforms
Attorneys for women who said they were sexually abused by a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California say a $215 million settlement includes groundbreaking campus reforms. Attorneys say a proposed lawsuit settlement filed Tuesday in federal court will require the university to put procedures in place for identifying, preventing and reporting sexual abuse and racial misconduct. Hundreds of students and alumni accused Dr. George Tyndall of committing sexual or inappropriate conduct during physical exams. Tyndall denied the allegations. (2/12)
Los Angeles Times: USC’s Controversial $215-Million Settlement With Gynecologist's Victims Moves Forward
Under the terms of the class-action settlement, every former patient who saw Tyndall for a women’s health issue will be eligible for a minimum payment of $2,500. ... Women who submit to an interview with the special master will be eligible for an award of up to $250,000. To calculate each patient’s award, the special master will work with a team of experts in gynecology, psychology and sexual trauma. Beyond the compensation, the settlement requires USC to agree to a series of administrative changes. The university is to create a position for “an independent women’s health advocate” to ensure complaints about improper sexual or racial conduct are investigated. (Ryan and Hamilton, 2/12)
Los Angeles Times: LGBTQ Alumni At USC Allege Men's Doctor Sexually Abused Them
In another blow to USC’s student health clinic, six male graduates filed a lawsuit this week accusing a men’s health doctor of sexual battery and harassment during appointments. The suit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that Dr. Dennis Kelly made demeaning remarks to defendants, all recent graduates who identify as gay or bisexual, about their sexual practices and performed unnecessary rectal exams designed to embarrass them or “to satisfy his own prurient sexual desires.” (Hamilton and Ryan, 2/12)
And in other news —
Frontline/The Wall Street Journal: 'Predator On The Reservation': A Documentary Film
For more than two decades, government pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber raised suspicions that he was a pedophile. The Wall Street Journal and Frontline investigate how the Indian Health Service doctor was transferred from reservation to reservation and allowed to continue to treat children despite accusations he was sexually abusing Native American boys. (2/12)
The Baltimore Sun: Proposed Bill Would Forbid Nonconsensual Pelvic And Other Exams On Unconscious, Anesthetized Patients
Del. Heather Bagnall has proposed legislation to forbid health care practitioners, students and trainees from performing pelvic, rectal or prostate exams on unconscious or anesthetized patients without written consent or unless medically necessary. House Bill 364 would give patients peace of mind who may be concerned about such examinations as Maryland currently does not outlaw it, said Bagnall, D-Arnold. (Cook, 2/12)
