The Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas. Staff at military medical facilities must now ask patients if they would like a chaperone in the room before a doctor performs a sensitive exam. (Rodney Jackson/Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center)
Staff at military medical facilities must now ask patients if they would like a chaperone in the room before a doctor performs a sensitive exam. Leadership made the change after an Army doctor was charged with illegally recording videos of patients during appointments.
“Having chaperones available is a crucial part of patient-centered care,” said Dr. Paul Cordts, deputy assistant director for medical affairs and chief medical officer at the Defense Health Agency. “Chaperones can help protect both patients and health care staff.”
The previous policy required medical facilities to accommodate a patient’s request for a chaperone but did not require that they be asked their preference.
DHA shared the update online Thursday following months of scrutiny about how Maj. Blaine McGraw, an OB-GYN, could be criminally charged with recording videos more than 40 patients at Fort Hood, Texas, using his cellphone.
In total, the doctor is charged with 54 counts of indecent visual recording involving 44 women, according to the Army. All but one of those women received medical care from McGraw in 2025 at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. One woman was recorded at an off-post home.
Many women have said they did request a chaperone or their partner be present during appointments but were denied by McGraw, according to a lawsuit filed in Bell County, Texas, on behalf of 95 women who were patients of McGraw. During those appointments, McGraw would keep the camera lens of his phone facing outward from the breast pocket of his clothing, according to court documents.
There are internal military reviews to determine if the hospital was following policies and systems put in place to protect patients from abuse.
“Cases like McGraw prove that predators thrive in the shadows of ‘discretionary’ policies,” said Andrew Cobos, attorney for the women. “If the DHA is serious about stopping sexual assault in military medicine, they must stop treating patient safety as a suggestion. We need mandatory chaperones who answer to an independent board, not the doctors they are supposed to be monitoring.”
DHA defined a chaperone as an unbiased third party to any exam or clinical visit who is there to safeguard the patient and staff.
“These chaperones are members of the clinical team who are discreet and protect privacy. They’ll immediately report any suspected inappropriate conduct,” according to DHA.
Patients can request the chaperone while making the appointment or during it, and staff “will make a reasonable effort to provide a chaperone of the preferred sex.” If someone is not available, patients can reschedule the visit.
Sensitive appointments that require a provider to ask a patient’s preference include examination, treatment or procedure of the genitalia, rectum or female breasts, or forensic health care examinations. This policy may be waived in emergency situations, according to DHA.
