Medical board adding investigators, expects rise in sexual complaints after Dispatch probe

The State Medical Board of Ohio is beefing up its staff and anticipating more reports of sexual misconduct following the Dispatch's "Preying on Patients" investigation.

The Dispatch found at least 256 Ohio physicians have been disciplined by the state board for sexual abuse or harassment in the last 42 years.

The State Medical Board, tasked with oversight of Ohio's 96,000 or so medical professionals, has around 26 investigators, who along with investigating sexual misconduct, also look into paperwork problems and prescribing issues among other things. But, after The Dispatch's investigation, board executive director Stephanie Loucka said the organization plans to again increase its staff.

Preying On Patients:Read The Dispatch's exclusive investigation in its entirety now

The board will add two more investigators and two more enforcement attorneys soon, Loucka said in response to a question on a recent episode of WOSU's All Sides with Ann Fisher. Fisher hosted Loucka, Dispatch reporter Max Filby and a national patient safety advocate to discuss The Dispatch's investigation.

The additional hires will bring the medical board's staffing to 91 employees, which is the highest number of people who have worked at the board in its history, a spokeswoman said via email.

"We will be increasing staff even more ... because these complaints are really complicated and we want to make sure we're getting to them in a timely fashion," Loucka said.

The medical board is also planning a public information campaign this year. That campaign will seek to better inform the public about what the board does, and how it handles complaints of sexual abuse and harassment against doctors and others in the medical field, Loucka said.

Loucka encouraged the public to "be vigilant" and said she's hopeful the Dispatch's investigation raises awareness.

In anticipation of the Dispatch's series Preying on Patients, the medical board prepared.

"The medical board is here to take those complaints," Loucka said. "We stand ready."

In anticipation of the Dispatch investigation, Loucka said board leaders prepared staff for the potential for a rise in complaints and for calls from patients who may have been abused or harassed by a doctor who has already faced disciplinary action. Even if the board has already taken action against a doctor, Loucka said it can still help connect Ohioans with victim services.

"We're happy to talk to individuals who may have been victims ..." Loucka said. "Maybe an action's been taken that ties our hands (and) we'd like to be able to explain that, and we'd like to be able to know what they know about those complaints."

Ohio doctor gives up license a second time

Additionally, Loucka said that a doctor featured in the Dispatch series has since surrendered his license to the medical board.

Dr. Gary Gladieux, a northwest Ohio physician, permanently surrendered his medical license and the board accepted his surrender at its Feb. 8 meeting. Medical board records show that Gladieux was most recently accused of failing to properly examine a patient or for failing to document the examination and for not keeping a record of a prescription of a controlled substance for that patient.

In 1997, Gladieux was accused of having sex with the mothers of seven patients over multiple years.

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Gladieux at the time said the sex was consensual and did not affect patient care. He unsuccessfully fought the medical board in court, arguing that no specific policy banned the relationships.

The case garnered national attention, prompting the American Medical Association in 1998 to say it is unethical for doctors to have sex or engage in romantic relationships with their patients' spouses, parents, guardians or surrogates. The American Academy of Pediatrics in August 1999 formally issued a similar policy.

Following the 1997 allegations, the medical board suspended Gladieux's license for two years. The board reinstated Gladieux's license in 2001 and he continued to practice until agreeing to give up his license this year.

Levi Tkach, an attorney for the pediatrician, said via email that Gladieux's consent agreement to give up his license had nothing to do with prior accusations of sexual misconduct.

Tkach referred to the doctor's decision to surrender his license as a "retirement" and board records described it as a "surrender/ retirement." Consent agreements or settlements reached with the medical board — such as the one Gladieux signed — allow doctors to negotiate what is made public, including the terms of any discipline, the language used and the details of accusations.

The agreement signed by Gladieux states that he will never be eligible to apply to have his medical license reinstated in Ohio.

Dispatch reporter Jennifer Smola Shaffer contributed to this story.

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Medical board adds staff, expects more complaints after Dispatch story