Table 3

Summary of the Medical Board Policies, Rules, and Laws by State Regarding Mandatory Reporting by Psychiatrists of Sexually Exploitive Therapists, as Discovered During Treatment of a Patient

StateOfficial Mandated Reporter PolicyStandard for Reporting According to the Statute
AlabamaNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
AlaskaMandated to report, 12 AAC 40.967 (2019)Facts known to the licensee regarding incompetent conduct as defined by Alaska Stat. § 08.64.326 (2019)
ArizonaMandated to report, A.R.S. § 32-3251 (2019)Any information that appears to show that a doctor of medicine is or may be medically incompetent, is or may be guilty of unprofessional conduct or is or may be mentally or physically unable safely to engage in the practice of medicine
ArkansasNo official mandated reportingN/A
CaliforniaNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardSee Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 729. (2019)
ColoradoMandated to report, C.R.S. 12-36-118 (2018)Duty to report to the board any licensee known, or upon information and belief, to have violated any of the provisions of C.R.S. 12-36-117(1)
ConnecticutMandated to report, Conn. Gen. Stat. §20-13d (2019)Has any information which appears to show that a physician is or may be unable to practice medicine with reasonable skill or safety for any of the reasons listed in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-13c
DelawareNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
District of ColumbiaNo official mandated reportingN/A
FloridaaNo official mandated reportingN/A
GeorgiaNo official mandated reportingN/A
HawaiibNo official mandated reportingN/A
IdahoMandated to report, Idaho Code § 54-1818 (2019)Possessing knowledge of a violation of Idaho Code § 54-1814 (2019) by any other physician and surgeon licensed to practice medicine
IllinoisNo official mandated reportingN/A
IndianacMandated to report, 844 IAC 5-2-8 (2019)Personal knowledge based upon a reasonable belief that another practitioner holding the same license has engaged in illegal, unlawful, incompetent or fraudulent conduct in the practice of medicine
IowaMandated to report, IAC § 653-22.2 (2019)Knowledge means any information or evidence of reportable conduct acquired by personal observation, from a reliable or authoritative source, or under circumstances causing the licensee to believe that wrongful acts may have occurred.
KansasdNo official mandated reportingN/A
KentuckyNo official mandated reportingN/A
LouisianaNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
MaineMandated to report, 24 M.R.S. § 2505 (2019)Reasonable knowledge of acts of the physician … amounting to gross or repeated medical malpractice … that endangers the health or safety of patients, professional incompetence, unprofessional conduct, or sexual misconduct identified by board rule
MarylandbNo official mandated reportingN/A
MassachusettsMandated to report, ALM GL ch. 112, § 5F (2019)… shall report to the board any person who there is reasonable basis to believe is in violation of section five, or any of the regulations of the board
MichiganMandated to report, MCLS § 333.16222 (2019)Knowledge that another licensee or registrant has committed a violation under § 16221, article 7, or article 8
MinnesotaMandated to report, Minn. Stat. Ann. § 147.111 (2019)Personal knowledge of any conduct which the person reasonably believes constitutes grounds for disciplinary action under § 147.01 to 147.22
MississippiNo official mandated reportingN/A
MissouriNo official mandated reportingN/A
MontanaeMandated to report, MCA 37-3-401 (2019)… shall … report to the board any information that appears to show that … a physician is guilty of unprofessional conduct
NebraskafNo official mandated reportingN/A
NevadagNo official mandated reportingN/A
New HampshireNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
New JerseyMandated to report, N.J.S.A. 45 1-37 (2019)If that health care professional is in possession of information which reasonably indicates that another health care professional has demonstrated an impairment, gross incompetence, or unprofessional conduct
New MexicoNo official mandated reportingN/A
New YorkMandated to report NY CLS Pub Health § 230 (2019)Any information … which reasonably appears to show that a licensee is guilty of professional misconduct
North CarolinaNo clear mandated reporting, per medical boardPer North Carolina medical board, reporting would “depend on each individual case.”
North DakotaNo official mandated reportingN/A
OhiohNo official mandated reportingN/A
OklahomaMandated to report Oklahoma § 435 10-7-4 (2019)Unprofessional conduct includes failure to report to the Board unprofessional conduct committed by another physician.
OregonMandated to report, ORS § 676.150 (2018)Reasonable cause to believe that another licensee has engaged in prohibited or unprofessional conduct
PennsylvaniaNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
Rhode IslandMandated reporting at the request of the patientSee Table 2 and RI Gen. Laws Ann. § 5-63.1-2 (2019)
South CarolinaNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
South DakotabNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
TennesseeNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A
TexasMandated to report Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 81.006 (2017)If the patient reports any sexual contact with a previous provider, clinician must report.
UtahMandated to report, as per Utah medical board citing Utah Code 26-23a-2 (2018) and Utah Rule R156–67 (2019)Any health care provider who treats or cares for any person who has any … injury inflicted by … violation of any criminal statute of this state (referable to Utah Criminal Code 76-5-406 (2019)
VermontNo official mandated reportingN/A
VirginiaNo official mandated reportingSee Code of Virginia § 54.1-2400.4 (2019)
WashingtonNo official mandated reportingN/A
West VirginiaMandated to report W. Va. Code § 30-3-14 (2019)Report to the board any act of gross misconduct committed by another licensee of the board
WisconsinMandated reporting at the request of the patient; see Wis. Stat. § 940.22 (2019)See Table 2 and Wis. Stat. § 940.22 (2019)
WyomingNo official mandated reporting, per medical boardN/A

  • ↵a In Florida, a physician must report a sexually exploitive colleague if aware of misconduct, unless that information was uncovered during a treatment session as per Fla. Stat. § 456.059 (2018). Psychiatrists must maintain patient confidentiality.

  • ↵b Practitioners in Hawaii, South Dakota, and Maryland are encouraged to report sexually exploitive colleagues and are by law allowed, but not required, to break patient confidentiality to do so.

  • ↵c In Indiana, the law only requires mandated reporting to a peer-review committee, but not to the medical board.

  • ↵d In Kansas, a physician must report a sexually exploitive colleague if aware of misconduct, but K.S.A. § 65-4923 (2019) specifically states “[t]his subsection shall not be construed to modify or negate the physician–patient privilege, the psychologist–client privilege, or the social worker–client privilege as codified by Kansas statutes.” Furthermore, a report may only be made based on “direct involvement or observation of the incident.”

  • ↵e In Montana, only psychiatrists are mandated to report sexually exploitive behavior. A psychologist shall only report it with written permission of the client as per ARM 24.189.2305 (2019).

  • ↵f In Nebraska, a physician must report a sexually exploitive colleague if aware of misconduct as per R.R.S. Neb. § 38-1,125 (2019); these reports, however, only apply to “first-hand knowledge of the facts,” and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 27-504 (2019) protects information learned from a patient during a course of treatment.

  • ↵g In Nevada, a physician must report a sexually exploitive colleague if aware of misconduct as per Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann § 630.3062 (2019), but NRS § 49.215 (2019) protects communication between the doctor and patient through a privilege held by the patient.

  • ↵h While the state has no mandated reporting, Ohio § 4731.22(F)(S) says anyone “may” report.