Bill Text: NY S07023 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-29 - referred to health [S07023 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07023-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7023

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 16, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. RIVERA, BROUK, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, KRUEGER, MYRIE, SALA-
          ZAR, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed  to
          be committed to the Committee on Health

        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

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subparagraph  (ii)  of paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of
     2  section 230 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 558  of  the
     3  laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (ii)  If  the  investigation  of  cases  referred  to an investigation
     5  committee involves issues of clinical practice, medical  experts,  shall
     6  be consulted. Experts may be made available by the state medical society
     7  of  the  state  of  New  York, by county medical societies and specialty
     8  societies, and by New York state medical associations dedicated  to  the
     9  advancement  of  non-conventional  medical treatments.   Medical experts
    10  shall disclose any conflicts of interest including but  not  limited  to
    11  shared  alma mater, hometown, residence, or relationships, that connects
    12  or establishes a bond between such medical expert and  the  licensee  in
    13  order  to  preclude any favorable bias prior to assisting in an investi-
    14  gation.  A medical expert shall not be consulted if such medical  expert
    15  is  under  investigation,  has  an  administrative  warning,  or  is  on
    16  probation, and such medical expert shall be  dismissed  from  consulting
    17  duties  if  such medical expert becomes the subject of an investigation,
    18  receives an administrative warning, or is put on probation  during  such
    19  experts  term  of  consultation.  Any  information  obtained  by medical
    20  experts in consultations, including the names of licensees or  patients,
    21  shall  be  confidential  and  shall not be disclosed except as otherwise
    22  authorized or required by law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02411-01-3
        S. 7023                             2

     1    § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of  section  230  of  the  public
     2  health law, as amended by chapter 866 of the laws of 1980, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    (a)  Investigation.  The  board for professional medical conduct, by a
     5  committee on professional  conduct,  may  investigate  on  its  own  any
     6  suspected  professional misconduct, and shall investigate each complaint
     7  received regardless of the source. The results of the investigation  and
     8  an objective summary statement produced by the investigator along with a
     9  recommendation  shall  be  referred  to  the  director  of the office of
    10  professional medical conduct. If the director of the office  of  profes-
    11  sional medical conduct, after consultation with a professional member of
    12  the board for professional medical conduct, determines that a hearing is
    13  warranted  he shall direct counsel to prepare the charges within fifteen
    14  days thereafter. If it is determined by the director that the  complaint
    15  involves  a  question  of  professional expertise then such director may
    16  seek, and if so shall obtain, the concurrence of at least two members of
    17  a panel of three members of the state  board  for  professional  medical
    18  conduct.
    19    §  3.  Section 230 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
    20  subdivision 6-a to read as follows:
    21    6-a. (a) The board shall adopt  a  zero-tolerance  policy  for  sexual
    22  misconduct  and the office of professional medical conduct shall publish
    23  such policy and make it publicly available on its website.  Such  policy
    24  shall  include  a  statement that a patient cannot consent to any sexual
    25  conduct or activity with such patient's treating physician.
    26    (b) The board shall institute semi-annual training or in-service work-
    27  shops on sexual misconduct and  sexual  harassment  for  the  office  of
    28  professional  medical  conduct  staff,  including investigators, medical
    29  experts, the division of legal affairs, and the board. The  board  shall
    30  provide  comprehensive orientation and training on sexual misconduct and
    31  sexual harassment issues utilizing expert speakers,  physicians,  repre-
    32  sentatives  from the office of the attorney general, crisis intervention
    33  centers, and related community programs.
    34    § 4. The public health law is amended by adding a new section  2803-bb
    35  to read as follows:
    36    § 2803-bb. Protection of patients from sexual misconduct. 1. The prin-
    37  ciples  enunciated  in subdivision three of this section are declared to
    38  be the public policy of the state and a copy of such statement of rights
    39  and responsibilities shall be posted conspicuously in a public place  in
    40  each hospital covered hereunder.
    41    2.  The  commissioner shall require that every hospital, as defined in
    42  subdivision one of section twenty-eight hundred  one  of  this  article,
    43  shall  adopt  and make public a statement of the rights and responsibil-
    44  ities regarding protection of the patients from  sexual  misconduct  who
    45  are  receiving  care in such hospitals, and shall treat such patients in
    46  accordance with the provisions of such statement.
    47    3. Said statement of rights and responsibilities regarding  protection
    48  from  sexual misconduct shall include, but not be limited to the follow-
    49  ing:
    50    a. Every patient shall have the right to request  the  presence  of  a
    51  family member or third-party chaperone during a physical examination.
    52    b.  Every  patient shall have the right to receive a written statement
    53  of the right to request the presence of a family member  or  third-party
    54  chaperone during: (1) breast and pelvic examinations of females; and (2)
    55  genitalia and rectal examinations of both males and females.
        S. 7023                             3

     1    4. Each hospital shall give a copy of the statement to each patient at
     2  or  prior  to the time of admission to the hospital, or to the appointed
     3  personal representative at the time of appointment. Such statement shall
     4  be provided in a document in addition to, and separate from,  any  other
     5  statement  of  rights  and  responsibilities  required  pursuant  to the
     6  provisions of this chapter.  Upon acknowledgment of the statement by the
     7  patient, an acceptance or declination of the  presence  of  a  chaperone
     8  shall be noted in such patient's chart.
     9    §  5.  Section  6530  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
    10  subdivision 51 to read as follows:
    11    51.  Sexual  impropriety,  including  but  not  limited  to  behavior,
    12  gestures,  or expressions that are sexually suggestive, disrespectful of
    13  patient privacy, or sexually demeaning to  a  patient,  physical  sexual
    14  contact between a licensee and patient or engaging in any conduct with a
    15  patient  that  is  sexual or may be reasonably interpreted as sexual, or
    16  any examination of the breasts or genitals without  appropriate  consent
    17  from a patient or surrogate.
    18    §  6.  The  education law is amended by adding a new section 6523-a to
    19  read as follows:
    20    § 6523-a. Additional duties of the state board for medicine. In  addi-
    21  tion to any other duties of the state board for medicine provided for in
    22  law,  such  board shall query information from the United States depart-
    23  ment of health and human services national practitioner data  bank  upon
    24  an  initial  request  for  licensure by an applicant pursuant to section
    25  sixty-five hundred twenty-four of this article. If  such  query  returns
    26  any  instance  of  professional  misconduct  by the applicant, the board
    27  shall consider both the severity of the misconduct alone and in relation
    28  to the probability of such  misconduct  recurring  upon  licensure  when
    29  determining  whether  an  application  for  licensure shall be denied or
    30  whether to grant the applicant a  hearing  regarding  such  instance  of
    31  professional misconduct.
    32    §  7.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    33  have become a law provided, however, that the  amendments  to  paragraph
    34  (a)  of  subdivision  10 of section 230 of the public health law made by
    35  section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion
    36  of such paragraph pursuant to section 5 of chapter 426 of  the  laws  of
    37  1983,  as  amended, when upon such date the provisions of section two of
    38  this act shall take effect. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
    39  ment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for the imple-
    40  mentation of this act on its effective date are authorized and  directed
    41  to be made and completed on or before such effective date.