Massachusetts Must Enact Proposed Legislation Requiring Chaperones During Sensitive Patient Examinations
Legislation is Bare Minimum to Protect Patients From Sexual Abuse Under the Guise of Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health held a hybrid public hearing about legislation relating to patient safety and quality, including bills S.1491/H.2362. The identical bills would require health care providers to offer trained, licensed chaperones during all genital examinations, regardless of patient gender, and during breast examinations for female patients.
Led by Rep. Jenny Armini and Sen. Brendan Crighton, the proposed chaperone-policy legislation comes at the backdrop of allegations of sexual assault by over 200 patients against Dr. Derrick Todd, a Massachusetts rheumatologist.
Azza AbuDagga, Ph.D., a health services researcher for Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, testified in the public hearing. She released the following statement:
“The physical presence of a trained, licensed chaperone during sensitive examinations should be a right for every patient in Massachusetts and elsewhere. It is heartbreaking to hear the stories of the patients who testified in the hearing today. Their suffering could have been prevented by this common sense chaperone policy that we and others have called for several years.”