Delaware Enacts New Laws Impacting Medical Professionals

In the wake of the investigation and prosecution of Dover pediatrician Earl Bradley on hundreds of counts of sexual assault and child molestation, the Delaware General Assembly passed a series of bills designed to enhance the effectiveness of regulators who license medical professionals and law enforcement officials charged with investigating and prosecuting crimes of abuse in Delaware, which bills were signed by Governor Markell on June 30, 2010. A summary of the bills can be found on the Governor's website at http://governor.delaware.gov/news/2010/1006june/20100630-legislation.shtml. Perhaps most significantly for physicians, the bills (1)require that there be another adult in the room when a physician is treating a person 15 years of age or younger and the child is disrobed or otherwise undergoing certain physical examinations, (2)provide for expedited suspensions of medical licenses if there is a threat to the public,(3) facilitate the ability of the Board of Medical Practice (now renamed the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline) to obtain information from peer review panels, (4) impose stiffer sanctions for the failure to report physician misconduct, (5) require physicians to undergo background checks, and (6) require physicians to participate in training to recognize signs of child abuse.