PORTLAND, Oregon — KGW News launched a trailer on Monday for a new investigative documentary called Sick Medicine. The documentary examines what happens when institutions responsible for protecting patients and holding doctors accountable fail to do so.
The documentary will be released on Oct. 23 on all of KGW’s digital platforms including the website, YouTube channel, and the KGW+ app for Roku, FireTV and Apple TV.
Our investigation was spurred by the case of David Farley, a former doctor in West Linn, Oregon. Nearly 130 women and girls joined a lawsuit, accusing him of sexual abuse. In the fall of 2022, prosecutors brought 23 of those cases before a grand jury, which declined to indict him on criminal charges.
The case caused us to wonder how many doctors have evaded accountability despite being accused of serious misconduct.
We spent months investigating cases where doctors were allowed to continue practicing medicine even after they were credibly accused of serious misconduct or gross negligence. In some cases, doctors either surrendered their medical license or had it suspended, only to escape their troubled past by moving to another state to continue practicing medicine.
Over the course of our investigation, KGW discovered that patients too often have no easy way to learn about these cases. Most state medical boards don’t disclose the full scope of their investigations to the public and they don’t freely share comprehensive information about disciplinary action against doctors.
KGW investigative reporter Ashley Korslien and a team of journalists interviewed more than three dozen patients, lawmakers and attorneys across Oregon, California and Washington. We heard first-hand accounts from people impacted by doctor misconduct.
We also spoke with patient safety advocates who have spent years calling for changes to the way in which medical boards discipline doctors and release information to the public. These patient safety advocates weighed in on solutions they believe will improve accountability and transparency, especially in keeping problem doctors from moving from state to state.