Editor’s Note: John Tierney is the executive producer of the KGW investigative documentary Sick Medicine.
We ran into many roadblocks while reporting the documentary Sick Medicine. Our medical system is designed to protect the privacy of patients, which makes accessing information difficult.
In most cases, this is a good thing. Our doctors know some of our most personal and intimate details, which should remain private.
But we found instances where the lack of transparency can be potentially harmful to patients. Our investigation focuses on how medical boards around the country allow certain doctors accused of serious wrongdoing to continue practicing medicine with little disclosure to patients.
We relied heavily on Oregon’s public records law in our reporting. It proved to be one of the most effective tools available to shine a light on situations where patients couldn’t otherwise access information about their doctors.
One of the cases we examined involved a doctor named Christopher Baldwin who had been accused of sexual battery and sued by eight of his patients.
While reporting the documentary, the Oregon Medical Board actually sued KGW to stop us from accessing records about its investigation. This is the story of how KGW continues to fight in court for documents about the case we believe the public – including Dr. Baldwin’s patients – have a right to see.
Dr. Baldwin accused of sexual battery
At the start of our research for Sick Medicine, we compiled a list of around 150 doctors in Oregon who either had surrendered their medical license, or had their license revoked or suspended. That list included Dr. Baldwin, an internal medicine physician who had worked in the Portland area.
In 2020, eight women sued Dr. Baldwin for sexual battery and medical negligence. The women claimed that Dr. Baldwin acted inappropriately during medical exams by pulling back their shirts to stare at their breasts for no legitimate medical reason. Three of the women also accused him of touching their breasts or genital areas.
Six of the women were school bus drivers for the Beaverton School District who visited Dr. Baldwin for mandatory physical exams to maintain their commercial driver’s license.
Dr. Baldwin settled the lawsuit out of court. The terms of the settlement were never disclosed, and it appears the victims all signed confidentiality agreements preventing them from talking publicly about the case.
The lawsuit triggered an investigation by the Oregon Medical Board. The Oregon Medical Board never publicly disclosed the outcome of that investigation, but by 2022, Baldwin’s medical license in Oregon had been placed on “inactive” status. Records show he obtained a new medical license in Arizona in September of the same year.
His case caught our attention because neither the Oregon Medical Board nor the Arizona Medical Board websites showed any indication of the past investigation into Dr. Baldwin. There was no mention of the lawsuit, or the fact eight patients had accused him of sexual battery.
A fight for public records
While the Oregon Medical Board has said very little publicly about Dr. Baldwin, we learned during our reporting that the board ended its investigation by issuing him a “letter of concern.” These kinds of letters are used when investigators don’t necessarily find any violations but want to provide feedback to a doctor to improve patient care.
KGW filed a public records request to get a copy of the letter. While Oregon law prevents the public from seeing most medical board records, there are certain exceptions. The medical board denied that request, arguing the records are confidential.
We appealed that decision to the Oregon Attorney General’s office, which under Oregon law has the power to hear appeals about public records cases involving state agencies.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Udland ruled in our favor, ordering that while the medical board could keep some records about Dr. Baldwin private, it had to give KGW the letter of concern.
The Oregon Medical Board responded by suing KGW in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Its civil complaint asked a judge to overrule the Deputy Attorney General and prevent KGW from getting the letter of concern.
In court filings, lawyers for the medical board argued that disclosing the letter of concern and other records would “harm the public interest” by setting “a precedent that would eviscerate the confidentiality protections afforded to OMB’s investigatory process by the state legislature.” Their attorneys went on to say that disclosing the records would “discourage candor and cooperation of licenses during OMB investigations.”
In response, KGW and our attorneys argued there is a significant public interest in Dr. Baldwin’s case that requires the records to be disclosed. Oregon law allows certain medical board records to be released if the requester can show “clear and convincing evidence that the public interest in disclosure outweighs other interest in nondisclosure, including but not limited to the public interest in nondisclosure.”
In a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case, KGW’s attorneys argued that the fact eight women accused Dr. Baldwin of sexual misconduct while performing examinations, coupled with the fact he later obtained an active medical license in a different state, shows there is a significant public interest in learning more about the case.
KGW will continue to fight in court to obtain the letter of concern issued to Dr. Baldwin. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for November 21.