Delaware § 1221 Pelvic, rectal, or prostate examinations

Delaware Statutes

§ 1221 — Pelvic, rectal, or prostate examinations

Delaware § 1221

JurisdictionDelaware

Title16

PartRegulatory Provisions Concerning Public Health

Ch. 12INFORMED CONSENT AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Subch.Medical Examinations

This text of Delaware § 1221 (Pelvic, rectal, or prostate examinations) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Del. Code tit. 16, § 1221 (2026).

Text

(a)A health-care practitioner or a health-care professional may not knowingly perform or supervise the performance of a pelvic, rectal, or prostate examination on a patient who is anesthetized or unconscious unless one of the following applies:

(1)The patient or the person authorized to make health-care decisions for the patient has given informed consent to the examination.

(2)The examination is necessary for diagnostic or treatment purposes.

(3)An emergency exists and it and it is impracticable to obtain consent and the examination is necessary for diagnostic or treatment purposes.

(4)A court of competent jurisdiction orders the performance of the examination for the collection of evidence and such order must be issued in compliance with all of the following provisions: a. The

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(a) A health-care practitioner or a health-care professional may not knowingly perform or supervise the performance of a pelvic, rectal, or prostate examination on a patient who is anesthetized or unconscious unless one of the following applies:

(1) The patient or the person authorized to make health-care decisions for the patient has given informed consent to the examination.

(2) The examination is necessary for diagnostic or treatment purposes.

(3) An emergency exists and it and it is impracticable to obtain consent and the examination is necessary for diagnostic or treatment purposes.

(4) A court of competent jurisdiction orders the performance of the examination for the collection of evidence and such order must be issued in compliance with all of the following provisions:

a. The court must find that there is a compelling need for such examination, which cannot be accommodated by other means. In assessing compelling need, the court shall weigh the need for the examination and the disclosure of the results against the privacy interest of the individual to be examined.

b. Pleadings pertaining to the ordering of the examination shall substitute a pseudonym for the true name of the subject of the examination. The true name shall be communicated confidentially to the court and kept under seal of the court.

(b) A health-care practitioner or health-care professional shall notify the patient as soon as reasonably practical that an examination was performed pursuant to § 1221(a)(3) and (4) of this title.

(c) Any health-care practitioner or health-care professional who violates § 1221(a) of this title is subject to discipline by the appropriate professional licensing board.