Most people who undergo surgery would never imagine that medical professionals would use their operation as an opportunity to teach those learning to become doctors and nurses how to perform pelvic or other intimate exams that aren’t part of the procedure. Certainly, they can’t imagine that it could be done without their knowledge or consent.
In recent years, however, students started speaking up about the ethical qualms they felt when told to perform “intimate” exams on patients under anesthesia in order to get practice in doing these exams. In response, New Jersey lawmakers, along with those in a few other states, took action.
New Jersey law requires informed written consent
New Jersey now has a law that prohibits unnecessary pelvic, prostate and other “intimate” exams during surgical procedures without a patient’s informed written consent. The law further allows for disciplinary action for doctors and others in authority who direct a student to conduct such an exam when it’s not part of the surgical procedure.
Hospitals have argued that their surgical consent forms mentioned the possibility of procedures for “educational and training purposes.” The law now makes it clear that this doesn’t qualify as “informed” consent.
Recent federal guidance from the Secretary of Health and Human Services
The issue has garnered so much media attention and concern that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, weighed in with a “Letter to the nation’s teaching hospitals and medical schools” this April. He announced guidance from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding breast, pelvic, prostate and rectal exams done for “educational and training purposes” while a patient is under anesthesia.
Sec. Becerra noted that hospitals need to “set clear guidelines to ensure providers and trainees performing these examinations first obtain and document informed consent from patients before performing sensitive examinations in all circumstances.” He also warned that hospitals could be violating one or more federal laws if these exams were done in their facilities without the required consent.
Anyone who learns that an unnecessary intimate exam has been done on them without their consent can rightfully feel angry and violated. They may only learn about it because they suffered some kind of physical harm while being examined by someone without experience. By getting experienced legal guidance, you can explore possible legal options for seeking justice and compensation.