Plan establishes clear guidelines for sensitive medical treatments

State Rep. Mary Whiteford, right, testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in support of her plan to better protect patients who receive sensitive medical procedures. She is joined by state Rep. LaTanya Garrett (D-Detroit).

State Rep. Mary Whiteford today testified before the House Judiciary Committee, saying Michigan’s laws must be updated to fix deficiencies brought to light during the House’s inquiry into the handling of the Larry Nassar sexual assault case at Michigan State University.

A plan introduced by Whiteford, a registered nurse from Allegan County’s Casco Township, would establish clear standards for sensitive medical procedures.

“We can’t fix the awful things that happened to the survivors in the Larry Nassar case, but we can learn from this horrible situation and make policy changes to better protect the people of Michigan,” Whiteford said. “We must work together to improve patient safety and ensure our citizens are properly cared for when they seek the help of medical professionals.”

Whiteford said the House’s 2018 inquiry found that medical records were never kept for many of Nassar’s “treatments” and numerous records that were kept lacked any reference to the sensitive nature of the treatments. Additionally, no polices were in place to prohibit such conduct.

Whiteford’s plan would:

• Require state medical boards to establish guidance material on treatments involving vaginal or anal penetration, and make the information available to the public;
• Require medical treatments involving vaginal or anal penetration to be referenced on the patient’s medical record;
• Require all medical records that reference vaginal or anal penetration to be retained for at least 15 years; and
• Require health care facilities to preserve a patient’s medical record for at least 15 years if the patient files a sexual misconduct complaint against an employee.

“This solution will set very clear standards so the medical community, as well as patients and their families, know what procedures are acceptable,” Whiteford said. “It will also ensure sensitive medical procedures are thoroughly documented in case clarification is needed in the future.”

The plan has bipartisan support, with a large number of both Republicans and Democrats co-sponsoring the legislation.
House Bill 4370 remains under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.

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