{"id":34494,"date":"2024-04-03T01:35:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T20:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/federal-government-says-hospitals-must-obtain-written-consent-for-exams-on-pelvis-and-other-sensitive-areas\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T01:35:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T20:05:22","slug":"federal-government-says-hospitals-must-obtain-written-consent-for-exams-on-pelvis-and-other-sensitive-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/federal-government-says-hospitals-must-obtain-written-consent-for-exams-on-pelvis-and-other-sensitive-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal government says hospitals must obtain written consent for exams on pelvis and other sensitive areas"},"content":{"rendered":"
[ad_1]\n<\/p>\n
Hospitals must obtain written informed consent from patients before subjecting them to pelvic exams and exams of other sensitive areas \u2014 especially if an exam will be done while the patient is unconscious, the federal government said Monday.<\/p>\n
New guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now requires consent for breast, pelvic, prostate and rectal exams for “educational and training purposes” performed by medical students, nurse practitioners or physician assistants.<\/p>\n
The department’s release said the guidance was issued to “reiterate and provide clarity” regarding hospital consent requirements. Federal regulations previously mentioned obtaining consent for “important tasks” related to surgeries, and did not provide the level of detail about medical students.<\/p>\n
If hospitals don\u2019t obtain explicit consent, they may be ineligible for participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs, and also may be subject to fines and investigations if they violate patient privacy laws, Office of Civil Rights director Melanie Fontes Rainer said.<\/p>\n
VIRGINIA DECLARES STATEWIDE OUTBREAK OF MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE: ‘RARE BUT SERIOUS’<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Doctors and medical students sometimes perform exams of sensitive areas for training purposes when a patient is under anesthesia. At least 20 states have passed laws requiring a patient’s consent.<\/p>\n HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and other top health officials criticized these exams happening without explicit consent in a letter sent to teaching hospitals and medical schools Monday. The letter said hospitals need to set “clear guidelines to ensure providers and trainees performing these examinations first obtain and document informed consent.”<\/p>\n