06/25/2025
OSMA Advocacy Leads to Major Protections for Physicians & Healthcare Providers
In a major win for Ohio physicians, and after continued advocacy from OSMA, the final version of the state budget legislation (HB 96) includes language which protects the integrity of the physician-patient relationship, physician autonomy, and the ability of physicians to exercise their independent medical judgement.
Ohio law will now include specific language that prohibits a court from ordering any medical practitioner to perform a medical procedure that is inconsistent with the practitioner’s expert medical opinion, including body cavity and strip searches.
OSMA would like to thank Senator Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville), who represents the Lorain County area, and Senator Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), an ER physician, for their leadership in bringing this important legal protection to reality.
OSMA recently helped fight for physician autonomy and achieve a legal win in Lorain County regarding a case in which physicians at Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital Emergency Department were presented with a request from the Lorain Police Department to perform a manual rectal examination on a detainee to retrieve a suspected foreign object, presumed to be drugs. Physicians refused in accordance with their training and medical judgement, and a criminal complaint was filed. After OSMA joined together with the Lorain County Medical Society and the American College of Emergency Physicians (Ohio ACEP) in an effort to support the physicians involved in the case, the prosecutor dismissed the case. While this case resulted in a positive outcome, we urged policymakers to include this language in the final budget in order to cement safeguards for physician autonomy in the law. No healthcare provider should be forced to perform a procedure that they believe to be unsafe, unethical, or contrary to professional standards. Threatening physicians with legal or administrative repercussions for prioritizing patient safety and adhering to ethical guidelines is an unacceptable assault on the medical profession.
OSMA is thrilled to help achieve this advocacy victory for physicians in Lorain County, and now, across Ohio. Thank you to our OSMA membership support, which provides the resources to make these efforts a reality.
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