Richland doctor agrees not to treat women while medical licensing issue pending
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- WA medical commission bars Dr. Mulholland from treating female patients for now
- Civil suits and criminal complaints allege sexual abuse by Mulholland since 2022
- Kadlec and Providence accused of ignoring prior complaints from patients
The Washington Medical Commission and Dr. Mark Mulholland have reached an agreement that prohibits him from practicing medicine with any patient who is female, including practicing as a consultant with no patient contact.
The interim order stands until licensing charges of unprofessional conduct are resolved.
Mulholland negotiated with the commission to reach agreement on the interim order, but he neither admits nor denies allegations made by the medical commission.
The medical commission in late April 2025 accused Mulholland of inappropriate comments and behavior toward women at Associated Physicians for Women — Kadlec Clinic in Richland.
Since then, about 18 civil lawsuits have been filed against him, Associated Physicians for Women or Kadlec Regional Medical Center and its owner, Providence, some alleging sexual assault.
In addition, two criminal complaints have been filed with the Richland Police Department, the first of them in 2023, according to a court document.
Kadlec has said that it cannot comment on pending litigation. Since it was first contacted by the Tri-City Herald in June, it has said that Mulholland is not currently practicing at its clinic.
The medical commission’s statement of charges cited the experiences of three patients from 2022-‘24.
More complaints to the medical commission have been made since then, according to attorneys who have filed civil cases.
The statement of charges said Mulholland had made inappropriate comments about patients’ physical appearances, including body-shaming patients who were overweight and making implied sexual comments about patients’ vaginas.
He also was accused of making inappropriate comments to staff, including asking them to show him their breasts, according to the statement of charges.
“Respondents’ behaviors toward patients and staff have often been rationalized, normalized and minimized, resulting in patient and staff complaints being dismissed and not taken seriously,” said the statement of charges.
Lawsuits filed by OB-GYN patients
One of the patients who filed a civil lawsuit in King County Superior Court said she had made multiple complaints about Mulholland’s actions but received no responses.
The woman, who is represented by attorneys Elizabeth Hanley in Seattle with Tamara Holder of in Chicago, said that during a pre-operative appointment in October 2022 Mulholland asked about her sex life. He then performed a pelvic exam without explaining the purpose and said she was “really tight in there,” according to the lawsuit.
She later contacted Kadlec’s patient relations department and left messages with the Kadlec chief executive officer and chief executive officer for Providence’s Northwest Region to alert them to the doctor’s behavior at her pre-operative appointment, she said.
None called her back, and she lost confidence that anything would be done about her concerns until she heard about lawsuits being filed over his alleged behavior, she told the Herald.
In another lawsuit, a patient alleges that Mulholland made sexually grotesque comments to her, pressed her down on the examination table, penetrated her with his fingers in a sexual manner and refused to remove his fingers despite her asking him to multiple time.
“It’s becoming clear that Dr. Mulholland was serially abusing his patients, and Kadlec knew about it for years,” said that patient’s attorney, Mallory Allen, a partner at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala in Seattle.
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM.