Jessica Yellin Instagram – U.S. TO REQUIRE CONSENT FOR PELVIC EXAMS, 4 YEARS AFTER SCANDAL REVEALED The US government says hospitals now need written consent to perform vaginal exams or risk losing Medicare funding. This, after a @nytimes investigation found that some teaching hospitals were conducting medically unnecessary pelvic exams on sedated patients without consent. And it’s been happening for years. The Department of Health and Human Services @hhsgov is cracking down four years after the investigation was published in 2020. Backstory: Medical students at teaching hospitals learn from observing doctors and by practicing procedures themselves. In service of this education, some healthcare workers have conducted pelvic exams at hospitals without patients’ consent or knowledge, while the patients are sedated for other procedures. These extremely invasive exams involve doctors inserting their hands into patients’ genitals. The exams can also cause lingering discomfort and pain if conducted when a patient isn’t conscious and able to say when something hurts. It should be obvious that a pelvic exam without consent is a violation, but this practice has been normalized in many healthcare environments. HHS has now established guidelines to ensure hospitals comply with their rule and obtain consent for these procedures. We will link to an article in stories so you can read more details. If. you’re finding this post long after our story has expired — google “She Didn’t Want a Pelvic Exam. She Received One Anyway” by the New York Times. Have you ever felt you were violated by a professional in the medical setting? Does this practice surprise you? #womenshealth #mybody #mybodymyrules #consent #consentmatters