Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations
Basic requirements
Communities may wish to consider basic requirements for designated exam sites, such as:[1]
- The site will be within a reasonable distance from any point in the area it serves (“reasonable” is locally defined);
- The site will promptly alert the SART, if one exists, when sexual assault patients arrive;
- Urgent or emergent physical injuries will be treated immediately;
- Responding examiners will be competent in their knowledge and skills;
- The site will arrange for certified interpretation as needed in patients’ preferred languages and/or obtain devices that facilitate communication for individuals with communication disabilities;
- Patients will be provided with a comprehensive medical forensic exam and resources to address their immediate emotional and psychological needs;
- The site will provide a private, secure, and quiet waiting area for patients and for personal support persons accompanying them;
- The site will provide a private and secure setting for the investigative interview;
- The site will provide a private exam room and other measures to assure patients’ privacy;
- The site will have a bathroom (preferably with shower facilities) available for patients’ use following completion of the exam;
- The site or examiner program that serves the site will have/provide proper equipment and supplies to facilitate a comprehensive exam (“proper equipment and supplies” are locally defined);
- The site or examiner program that serves the site will have a mechanism to ensure evidence collection kits are up to date;
- Patients will be offered medications for possible exposure to sexually transmitted infections;
- Patients will be offered information about how exams are paid for in their jurisdiction and reimbursement sources (if they exist) for related expenses that are their responsibility; and
- Site billing departments will adhere to proper coding and billing practices for sexual assault cases, as determined by the facility and informed by jurisdictional policy.
Promote public awareness about designated exam sites. If designated facilities or sites served by examiner programs are selected, their success depends on getting information about them to victims and agencies that provide immediate response or refer victims for treatment and evidence collection. At a minimum, the list of designated exam sites should be provided to all local hospitals, law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, sexual assault victim advocacy programs, and protective services. Promoting community public awareness about these sites is also important given that victims may first disclose an assault to family members, friends, teachers, faith-based leaders, employers, coworkers, and others. In addition, success will depend on interagency cooperation in explaining facility options to victims and transporting them to designated exam sites (with their permission). Law enforcement representatives and advocates may need guidance on how to recommend an exam location to victims without mandating that they go to a specific site.
[1] Adapted from Pennsylvania’s SART Guidelines, 2002, p. 21.
