John Jefferson
Inset: Dr. David Diffine (KAIT). Background: Diffine’s medical office where the alleged conduct took place (Google Maps).
The medical license of an Arkansas doctor with a family medicine practice has been suspended following allegations that he harassed and engaged in sexual activity with members of his staff — who were also his patients — and was walking about his medical clinic completely nude.
The Arkansas State Medical Board on Wednesday issued an emergency order of suspension pending a hearing regarding alleged violations of the Medical Practices Act against Dr. David Diffine, documents obtained by Law&Crime show.
According to the order, the board received information indicating that Diffine’s practice required immediate action regarding the “public health, safety, and welfare.”
The board on July 17, 2024, received a complaint claiming that Diffine “engaged in sexual contact with his staff, who are also his patients, and sexually harassed these same individuals.”
The complaint was accompanied by a video of the sexual conduct and harassment captured by a security camera inside the medical clinic.
“Specifically, the video shows, among other things, Dr. Diffine performing a sexual act with a staff member while other staff members were present and watching,” the order states. “The video also shows Dr. Diffine walking throughout the clinic naked.”
Dr. Bradley Diner, a member of the Arkansas Medical Foundation, viewed the security footage from Diffine’s clinic and had this to say:
“The perverse behavior leads to concerns about a sexual compulsive disorder or paraphilia which may in fact cross boundaries with his delivery of medical care. Simply, the interaction with his office staff suggest an entanglement in his medical practice. Given these additional concerns, I would recommend that he have a more formal professional evaluation for safety to practice.”
A majority of the board members voted to affirm that Diffine’s alleged conduct created “an ongoing danger to the public” if he were allowed to continue practicing medicine without a more thorough review of his actions.
Diffine’s medical license was previously suspended by the board in 2017 because he allegedly prescribed an excessive amount of controlled substances to multiple patients while failing to properly keep records regarding their condition. However, the charges against Diffine were dismissed due to a lack of proof, the board’s order states.
Diffine is currently scheduled to appear for a hearing to determine whether the alleged conduct violated the Medical Practices Act, specifically, whether he “utilized words or acts which sexually harass co-workers or employees or patients within the clinic or hospital setting.”
Read the medical board’s order below.
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