State health officials are investigating Cleveland Clinic in the wake of sexual assault allegations involving a former physician.
The Ohio Department of Health issued a complaint survey of the health system Dec. 22, a spokesperson told Becker's.
"Because of federal privacy laws, ODH cannot comment on the allegations related to this survey," the spokesperson said.
The complaint survey comes in the wake of accusations that Omar Massoud, MD, PhD, sexually assaulted patients during liver exams at the health system in 2022. Cleveland Clinic fired Dr. Massoud, who previously served as its chief of hepatology, after an internal review. He was arrested in late December and charged with three counts of aggravated kidnapping and three counts of gross sexual imposition.
Cleveland Clinic immediately reported the situation to appropriate law enforcement agencies and is cooperating with all investigations, according to a statement shared with Becker's.
"We care deeply about patient safety and any form of misconduct is not tolerated," Cleveland Clinic said. "We are taking immediate steps to improve how we protect patients when an allegation of abuse is being investigated."
These actions include updating its internal processes and educating caregivers on their responsibilities to report inappropriate behaviors.