Sexual Healing
Posted on 09. Oct, 2009 in Case Reports
Case Synopsis
Not So Fast
Carol was an unfortunate lady who suffered from developmental disability. Although an adult, she had the mental and emotional capacity equivalent to someone who was 14 years old. Even with her disabilities, Carol was the mother of two teenagers. But as a single mother, she struggled financially.
It was May of 2002 when Carol sought medical treatment for some problems she was having. She had a shoulder injury and had pain in her lower back that just didn’t seem to go away. To make matters worse, she also suffered from anxiety and depression. The doctor that she saw, Dr. Hathaway, treated her pain with Vicodin, her depression with Prozac, and her anxiety with Valium and Xanax. Dr. Hathaway also treated Carol’s two children for unrelated issues.
The “New” Treatment
A year later in the summer of 2003, Carol continued to have back pain. Could there be stronger medications? Or were there newer, more effective treatments?
Sure enough, Dr. Hathaway came up with a not-so-ingenious treatment protocol. He suggested to Carol during her visit that her back pain could be treated via massage. But this wasn’t the typical massage treatment that one would expect. Dr. Hathaway explained that her pain likely could be alleviated by massage of the vagina. And as she agreed, he proceeded to make arrangements.
For several visits, Dr. Hathaway would perform his treatment protocol. Each visit was billed to Medicaid as a 45 minute patient appointment. As expected, Carol’s back pain did not get better. Dr. Hathaway felt that the protocol needed to be modified. He subsequently convinced Carol that the massage could be accomplished through sexual intercourse as well as other sexually related contact. Again, each visit was billed as 45 minute patient appointments and were paid through Medicaid. These visits continued for approximately eight months.
The Investigation
In September 2004, Dr. Hathaway was investigated by the Medical Board. He admitted to other inappropriate patient boundary violations with three other adult female patients. With one, he engaged in sexual related conversations without any medical purpose. With the second patient, he hugged and kissed her in an inappropriate manner. He also made visits to her home. With the third patient, Dr. Hathaway admitted to hugging her too long, and had thought about moving their physician-patient relationship to a personal physical one.
Case Outcome
Because of his repeated offenses, Dr. Hathaway had his license revoked.
Analysis by Lyssa
This case has some similarities to the Case of the Horny Tode we did a few weeks back, but actually I find it more despicable. Dr. Tode’s affairs were more about seduction with women who were well-aware of his intentions.
Dr. Hathaway here, however, took advantage of someone whom he knew had mental and emotional issues. This is a complete disregard of ethics. It is almost borders on criminal to trick someone with a mind of a 14 year old. No real physical damage was done, but it could have long-term psychological effects on an already emotionally unstable patient.
What’s more is that Dr. Hathaway billed Medicaid for these sessions! That is insurance fraud on top of everything else, because he was not actually giving real medical treatments.
What I am rather confused about is why Carol was not accompanied by a more mature individual. A person like her would certainly need constant supervision and care. However, nothing would excuse Dr. Hathaway from what he did.
| Score |
|---|
| 6.4 |
| Damage | Anger | Ineptitude | Shock | Ethics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
Response by Florence
While stories such as these no longer surprise me much, they are still very sad and infuriating to learn about. I want to touch on something mentioned in the analysis. Where was Carol’s family through all of this? The article says that she was on Medicaid, which leaves me to believe that perhaps she did not have a very good support system to depend on, as poorer families have less options available to them. Such is the disparity inherent in society today. It is not a problem easily solved, either. I am pretty certain, however, if Carol had a chaperone of sorts, Dr. Hathaway would not have been able to perpetrate such offenses.
| Score |
|---|
| 4.4 |
| Damage | Anger | Ineptitude | Shock | Ethics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
Response by Marc
On first reading, this case blew my mind. Criminal! Rape! Those were my initial reactions. But as I like to do, I try to position myself in Dr. Hathaway’s shoes. What could he be thinking when he did what he did? What might he be feeling? Yes I know what he did was wrong, very wrong, but we can’t learn if we don’t allow ourselves to examine possible areas for prevention.
From the story, it reads that Dr. Hathaway had treated Carol for over a year before he made advances. And from my interpretation, he appeared to have slowly bit by bit sneak up the issue. Whether he was shy, scared, or felt guilty, Dr. Hathaway’s chosen method was via mental manipulation—not via physical force. It was not a sudden urge or loss of control, Dr. Hathaway had plenty of time to contemplate and reflect on his actions. Slowly but surely he slid down the slippery slope.
If we assume that Dr. Hathaway was a good genuine person (which we might not because he billed Medicaid for the visits), what could he have done to rein in his temptations? First off, he could stop seeing all female patients. More practical would be for Dr. Hathaway to have a chaperone such as a nurse or an office staff member accompany him. While chaperones do not completely eliminate the possibility of inappropriate behavior, they are an added barrier of protection for both the patient and the physician.
Carol likely did not have her own supervision because she was only developmentally delayed (not full on mental retardation).
| Score |
|---|
| 6.2 |
| Damage | Anger | Ineptitude | Shock | Ethics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 9 |
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what_the_heck
Oct 10th, 2009
Whoa, talk about a loser! Any guy who would take advantage of a mentally disabled woman is a sleeze but a Dr doing it is just way to much to think about. The other stuff he did wasn’t great by any means but they at least were able to consent. the woman with the disability on the other hand had no idea what was really going on. Shameful just shameful.
Jennifer
Oct 12th, 2009
just out of curiousity, i wanted to hear what you would have done if you worked there and knew this was happening. would you have said anything and to who? you’d have to lose your job and find a new one too!
cat
Oct 12th, 2009
@ Jennifer: If it came out that you knew and hadn’t told, no one would want to hire you. Ethics my dear. Personally I’d much rather look for a new job(even in today’s economy) than work for someone I knew was taking advantage of someone.
This guy had some serious gumption. First, taking advantage of someone with the mentality of a 14 year old and then billing Medicare. A real piece of work. I’m curious if the other female patients he had sex with were also delayed in any way and if not what he did to have them consent. Seems he was using his practice as a way to get sex and get paid.
Jennifer
Oct 14th, 2009
@cat: well the reason i asked was because i have a friend who has another friend (yeah i know how that sounds)…anyway, she works in a medical clinic. her doctor dropped something and just washed it and used it instead of getting another one. the doctor made everyone swear to secrecy not to say anything. no one told the patient. my friend’s friend is too scared and has justified in her mind that he washed it so it was ok. i was shocked
cat
Oct 14th, 2009
ewwww I would have a hard time staying with a doctor who did that, but that’s me. Without being in that situation, I can’t say what I would actually do. I’d like to think I’d keep with my values and look for another job. In the back of my mind I’d keep thinking how I would feel if I found that out and that no one told me.
what_the_heck
Oct 14th, 2009
Reply to Jennifer; I think that were I to be working for someone like that and find out what he had done I would tell the proper authorities. As I said in my first post, the fact he took advantage of a disabled woman just gets to me. To be honest though, the other offenses he was accused of doing – although I don’t agree with either – I would first confront him (the Dr) before speaking out. I also agree with Cat in that by not telling you do open yourself up to possible issues with finding work once other offices found out you didn’t speak up. Plus I would think that Obstructing Justice charges could be filed against you. As for the Doc that dropped something and still used it… what was he thinking?
DN
Feb 1st, 2010
Prostitution with a license to practice!