Accusations of doctor misconduct are often hidden from the public in Arizona. That could change
Arizonans would more readily know whether their doctor committed acts of sexual abuse, violence or improper prescribing of drugs under a proposed change in law and the governor’s budget plan at the state Capitol.
The push for changes comes after a series of articles in The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com showed how Arizona patients are put at risk because the board’s investigators are stretched thin and records of doctor misconduct are hidden from patients.
Current law bans the Arizona Medical Board’s website from showing more than the past five years of a doctor’s misbehavior and posting “advisory letters” is prohibited altogether. Those letters contain details of serious misconduct and are expressly a public record.
And the medical board has the same number of investigators that it had in the 1990s, when Arizona’s population was much smaller.
Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to add two investigators to its staff. Rep. Patty Contreras, D-Phoenix, introduced House Bill 2312 to extend the window for doctor misbehavior posted on the board’s site to 25 years and require the board also to post online the advisory letters it issues to doctors.
That would give Arizona patients easier access to records of misconduct, if they exist, for the tens of thousands of doctors the board regulates.
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"Your stories that came out with some of these doctors that were doing these crimes, to mostly women, from many years ago — those should have been things that are not hidden,” Contreras said.
Some of that hidden misconduct included: removing a patient’s ovaries without consent, inadequate removal of a brain tumor, operating on the wrong knee, showing up to work under the influence of alcohol, soliciting an act of prostitution and taking photographs of a patient’s vagina — without gloves — on a personal cellphone.
“This is definitely a significant stride in the right direction, toward public transparency,” said patient advocate Lisa McGiffert, co-founder of the Patient Safety Action Network. “And I think it appropriately responds to the issues that were reported in The Arizona Republic in a very positive way.”
The Governor’s Office generally expressed support for Contreras’ bill as well.
“We are still reviewing this legislation,” Hobbs’ spokesman Christian Slater said. “But I can say Gov. Hobbs wants to see commonsense reforms that will increase transparency and help Arizonans learn more about their health care providers. We will continue to look for ways to improve accountability and keep Arizonans safe.”
The board has just seven investigators with high caseloads, The Republic found in an investigation of the board’s shortcomings in dealing with sexual misconduct. That’s the same number of investigators it had about 30 years ago, according to a state auditor general report from 1994.
Finding the information: How to check your doctor's history and other options for better health care in Arizona
The Republic also has published resources to enable patients to look up their doctors, including a trove of advisory letters and a tool for patients to see if their doctor was reprimanded in a medical board meeting.
Accusations against doctor lingered for years
Adding more investigators might have helped the medical board take swifter action against Dr. Charles Kelly, of Kingman, who treats the digestive system.
Kelly is one of a handful of doctors required to see women in the company of a “chaperone,” another trained professional looking over his shoulder. He’s had that restriction for years pending the outcome of the complaints he faces.
He was accused in 2020 by three patients: one for “inappropriate performance of an examination,” one for “inappropriate contact during the course of an examination,” and one for “inappropriate conduct during the course of a colonoscopy.” Those accusations are still pending with the board.
In the first week of January, a state medical board meeting revealed four additional cases against Kelly, including deficiencies in Kelly’s “chaperone attendance,” documentation of the chaperone, and a 2022 complaint in which a patient claimed Kelly inappropriately performed three breast exams.
This time, the board suspended his license until the outcome of a formal hearing. But in the prior 21 months, while Kelly continued to practice, Arizona patients would have nearly no way to know about the latest allegations, because the board is understaffed and state law keeps its materials secret.
That is, unless a patient stumbled upon a lawsuit in Mohave County Superior Court.
In April 2022, Kelly sued a woman who complained about him to the state medical board, claiming defamation. Court records show Kelly’s lawsuit was settled and dismissed but don’t disclose the terms. The attorney who represented Kelly didn’t respond to requests for comment.
In its suspension of Kelly’s license, the board called him out for using “confidential Board investigative documents” during the course of that lawsuit, including the woman’s complaint against him.
Follow-up: Arizona Medical Board reviews handling of sexual misconduct claims after Republic report
The state medical board’s executive director, Pat McSorley, declined to comment on Contreras’ bill and declined to comment on Kelly. McSorley was supportive of the extra staff.
"The AMB is hopeful that the Legislature will approve the increased appropriation to employ two additional investigators for complaint handling needed by the agency," she wrote in an email "The addition of two additional investigators will allow for a decrease in the current caseload of the investigators and will result in a decrease in the number of days to complete an investigation."
Investigative reporter Andrew Ford exposes wrongdoing and prompts reform ― do you know something he should write about? Email [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Changes may come to AZ Medical Board's exposure of doctor misconduct