Tri-Cities doctor has medical license suspended. He’s accused of hugging, kissing patients

The medical license of a Kennewick doctor accused of sexual misconduct with patients has been suspended by the Washington state Department of Health.

Dr. Scott Owen Davis, 60, is scheduled for a trial in Benton County Superior Court in June on charges of indecent liberties as a health care provider, a felony.

The Washington state Department of Health alleges that Davis has a history of hugging and kissing patients on the forehead and other inappropriate physical conduct. And he is accused of discussing his personal sex life with patients.

His Kennewick clinic specialized in treating patients for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

He also is accused of putting patients at risk by writing prescriptions that were confusing and lacked medical justification and keeping illegible and disorganized patient records. In some cases he would tell patients to divide pills into thirds or quarters.

He yelled at two pharmacists at their workplaces as he discussed his pending divorce and attempted to limit which pharmacies his patients could use, according to state records.

At one point he prescribed medicine for treating dogs, even though he did not have a license to practice veterinary medicine, the Department of Health alleged.

In one of the incidents described in the state’s statement of charges, he was accused of hugging a patient seeking a refill for ADHD medication in September 2019.

He told the woman who was in her 50s that he was getting a divorce and then prayed with her for several minutes, according to the state. When he finished praying he told her “she needed to know how sensual” she was and asked her if she had felt his erection when he was close to her, according to the state.

The patient reported the incident to the police, leading to the felony charge.

Davis reportedly said the patient’s account of the incident was accurate, and he was trying to convince her that, contrary to her belief, she was sensual, according to state documents.

Court documents said that he told a police officer that he was glad the patient reported the incident “so this could come to light and he could get remedial training to not hurt patients in the future.”

State records said the prescriptions he wrote for the patient for three months before she reported him to police were unclear.

They included a prescription of Ritalin with large ranges of dosages and no daily maximum; prescriptions for stimulants that went beyond the maximum approved daily dosage and a prescription for an anti-depressant to be taken as needed even though it was manufactured to be used at a steady and frequent dose.

State records alleged inappropriate behavior and questionable prescribing practices with multiple other patients being treated for ADHD or the mothers of minors he treated:

▪ A patient being treated for ADHD from 2016 until the start of 2019 said her appointments were abnormally long and that he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.

Davis talked about his sex life with his wife and when he learned that the patient’s husband worked out of state, he told her that she was going to cheat on her husband.

At one point he stood in front of the exam room door and refused to let her leave until she listened to his medical advice, according to state documents.

▪ A patient who he saw in the summer of 2019 said he hugged her and used foul language.

He encouraged her not to take medications as they were prescribed and showed her other patients’ medical records.

▪ A patient Davis treated for eight months in 2019 said appointments had religious overtones.

Davis criticized other doctors and tore up the patient’s records from another doctor in front of the patient, the patient said.

Prescriptions included stimulants that started at the maximum daily dosage and then quickly escalated to dosages beyond that.

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 7:04 PM.