USC president to step down in wake of gynecologist scandal
Under growing pressure over the handling of misconduct allegations against a longtime campus gynecologist, the president of the University of Southern California will step down.
In a statement Friday, USC’s executive committee of the board of trustees announced that C.L. Max Nikias will resign after almost eight years as the university president. That action came after 200 faculty members demanded his ouster over the handling of complaints that former student health center gynecologist George Tyndall, M.D., sexually abused patients during exams.
USC faces a growing number of lawsuits amid accusations it failed to protect patients after complaints were made about Tyndall. The investigation into Tyndall’s misconduct also raises questions about the role of chaperones—nurses and medical assistants who were in the exam room—and whether they witnessed abuse and failed to protect patients. USC statement (PDF), CNN report
Doctors call for policymakers to protect women’s access to healthcare
In a new position paper, the American College of Physicians outlined a series of recommendations to protect and improve women’s access to healthcare.
Among those recommendations, the ACP said it opposes legislation or regulations that limit access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare by putting “medically unnecessary restrictions on healthcare professionals or facilities.”
The ACP also said it stands behind women’s rights to make their own health and reproductive decisions, including types of contraceptive methods and whether or not to continue a pregnancy. In respect for the principle of patient autonomy, the group said it opposes government restrictions that erode or abrogate a woman’s right to continue or discontinue a pregnancy. Annals of Internal Medicine paper
Pediatricians will lose jobs as clinics close in Texas
Dozens of pediatricians will lose their jobs as a result of an ownership change involving pediatric clinics in Texas.
MD Medical Group, a Las Colinas-based company that runs primary care clinics largely in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, will acquire 13 pediatric clinics from Children’s Health Texas, according to DallasNews.com. As a result, three clinics will close, at least temporarily. The Dallas Morning News article